Poland is racing ahead with military spending – but will it help or damage its economic growth story?
Are they spending enough to be able to defend the country?
But there is some fun here. It’s a standard lefty claim that Roosevelt’s spending on WWII is what dragged the US up out of Depression. And, well, maybe. It’s certainly used as the justification for an increased govt spend. But there’s also that standard lefty shout about spend on people, not bombs. And, well, maybe. But there’s a certain tension between the two, no?
Don’t think it is specifically lefty point about Roosevelt and the economy.
I think much the same, although it was British gold that boosted the US economy.
Roosevelt had right royally buggered the economy and prolonged the Depression. USA managed to grow in the 1930s despite his policies.
“And, well, maybe”
No. It wasn’t. It was post-WW2 tax cuts. Republicans taking the House for the first time since 1929. And then Eisenhower being elected in 1953.
Arms are only good for killing Johnny Foreigner. WW2 delayed the invention of the transistor as William Shockley went to work on submarine detection.
A few people noticed that the Great Depression (so named because it kept on going much longer than other depressions had) was also the first time the Federal gov’t got so involved in trying to fix the economy.
As well as stealing the nation’s gold.
Those who privately possessed gold bullion were compelled to sell it to the govt. 1937 I think this was.
Aye, much good their written Constitution did them then.
“Roosevelt’s spending on WWII is what dragged the US up out of Depression”
Considering the constant fiddling he did, I think what got them out of the Depression was that FDR wanted to get into the war and the US couldn’t as long as it couldn’t get its act together due to the constant changes.
So he stopped. Or rather, his fiddling changed.
Instead of fiddling for the purpose of exerting power, it was fiddling to make it easier to make arms. The side effect was to settle people down since the policies were less likely to change tomorrow and if they did change, the changes were more foreseeable.
The late, great Dr Walter E Williams said WWII ended the Great Depression by destroying international trade barriers.
Remember that the Poles defeated the Red Army which was en route to invade Germany: “The Miracle on the Vistula”, 1920.
It also meant that the southern arm of the Red Army gave up its intended conquest of Austria and Italy.
Always worth remembering when some liar tells you that Russia/Soviet Union never had offensive intentions.
.. .that Russia/Soviet Union never had offensive intentions.
Plenty of deluded people believe that is true today, too.
Problem with that one is that Hitler becomes a “good guy’ if France & the UK don’t declare war.him.
The bit that gets glossed over is that Pilsudski created the situation in the first place, when the Poles and the free Ukrainians attacked Kiev.
The Bolsheviks counter attacked and pushed the Poles back to the Weichsel.
Invading Germany was always the Soviet policy though. There was a rapprochement in the 20s, when Germany was trying to sanctions bust Versailles by buying oil from Russia and they conducted joint manoeuvres .
Are they spending enough to be able to defend the country?
They don’t need to. They need to spend enough to get Putin to think attacking Poland isn’t going to succeed, and/or the cost will exceed the benefit.
It’s the same with Ukraine. They only need to spend enough for Putin to think the cost of continuing the war isn’t worth it, and that it isn’t going to succeed if he just keeps on fighting until we give in.
Westerners are weak and decadent, and always give in.
Merchants count the costs, and back away when it gets expensive. Conquerors fight until death or victory.