The Dangerous Economist: Life is full of tradeoffs: if Europe wants more defense spending it might have to cut social spending

This sounds like the classic text book example of tradeoffs: Guns vs. Butter. There are links to many other posts that I have done like this at the end of this one.

See Russian Threat Forces Europe to Choose: Bolster Defense or Protect Social Spending: With U.S. commitment to NATO uncertain, Europe faces a security rebuild that threatens budgets for other programs by Laurence Norman of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"European countries are waking up to Russia’s danger, but the cost of building robust defenses able to withstand a potential U.S. pullback is so great that it threatens Europe’s post-Cold War social model.
With presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump questioning America’s future in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russian forces on the offensive in Ukraine, European leaders are warning of an existential threat to the continent’s security.
War nearby and disputes with the U.S. have exposed gaps in Europe’s military capabilities that would take years to plug even if governments make military spending a political priority, which they haven’t done for decades.
European Union leaders meeting Thursday plan to address the bloc’s defense vulnerabilities and its ambition to expand its defense industry. Painful decisions lie ahead.
Boosting Europe’s security would require increasing defense outlays just as many European countries are cutting budgets to cope with high debt levels and weak economic growth. Achieving the military spending that some politicians and experts say is needed would force European members of NATO to start reversing big post-Cold War increases in social spending."
"Europe would need at least 20 years to build a European force capable of reversing a Russian invasion of Lithuania and nearby parts of Poland without the U.S., according to an analysis by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank, in 2019.
The cost, IISS said, would be $357 billion, equivalent to more than $420 billion in today’s prices. Europe’s NATO allies are projected to spend $380 billion on defense this year."
"Because militaries need years to plan, equip and train forces, European governments face immediate and tough spending trade-offs."
"During the Cold War, many NATO members spent roughly 3% of gross domestic product on defense. Those outlays plunged in subsequent years."
"although European NATO countries’ military spending has returned to 1991 levels based on 2023 prices, social spending has more than doubled in that period, to consume half of government spending. That includes entitlement plans such as rising pension costs in an aging continent, which are politically hard to adjust.
That fiscal pressure has left Europe dependent on Washington for vital military capabilities."