{"id":80202,"date":"2025-02-15T16:41:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T16:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=80202"},"modified":"2025-02-15T16:41:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T16:41:41","slug":"europe-and-the-military-industrial-complex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2025\/02\/15\/europe-and-the-military-industrial-complex\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe and the military-industrial complex"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is always the case that money can be found for defence spending, war and any other act of destruction for humankind. As the FT noted yesterda<\/a>y:<\/p>\n

The EU plans to temporarily ease its fiscal rules to allow countries to spend more on defence, as the bloc has come under pressure from the US to invest more in its own security.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can announce that I will propose to activate the escape clause for defence investments,\u201d European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. \u201cThis will allow member states to substantially increase their defence expenditure. Of course, we will do this in a controlled and conditional way,\u201d she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Could the EU permit increased spending to relieve poverty? No. Apparently, that was impossible.<\/p>\n

Could it fund the funds to tackle climate change, which is the biggest threat we all face? No. Again, that was not allowed.<\/p>\n

But can we relax spending rules for defence? Apparently, that's no problem.<\/p>\n

I put it on record: money creation is always a political choice, and as a matter of fact,\u00a0 modern monetary theory precisely describes the process involved.<\/p>\n

As US President Eisenhower said in 1961 when leaving the White House<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wise words. We need to tread with care right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is always the case that money can be found for defence spending, war and any other act of destruction for humankind. As the FT
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