By TYLER GREGORY, Guest Columnist
As inflation increases, as mortgage rates increase, and as some grocery store shelves are bare, there seems to be an “out” that is not truly being discussed by many on either side of the political aisle.
As much as I disagree with this next statement, it may serve to be true: Wars pull struggling economies from the ground up onto their feet as shown with Nazi Germany or the United States.
By mobilizing a nation towards war, subsidies flow, economies grow and citizens’ passions show. This movement from struggling welfare economies to stronger warfare economies has been a great tool for major nations.
With this preface, I believe the Biden Administration is moving us further and further towards war in Europe. Russian-Ukrainian tensions are reaching a boiling point, and last week, President Biden supposed that Vladimir Putin will likely move into Ukraine.
Also during the last week, Senate Democrats shot down Republican efforts at placing sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, thus limiting the economic path to battling the Russian movement forward onto Ukraine. This line runs from Russia to Germany and is projected to provide 70% of Germany with natural gas. Yet Germany remains in NATO.
Other projections indicate this will cut Ukraine out of the natural gas economy in Europe, thus weakening them. With this laid out, it is easy to see what Putin is trying to accomplish here: the weakening of Ukraine, creating a dependent Germany and the economic boost Russia will receive from the pipeline all prove to be beneficial to the Politick.
This claim is supported by the fact that the most recent Department of Defense Budget provided an additional $24 billion more than what the Biden Administration requested.
Another issue regarding the growing tensions in Eastern Europe is the question of why the United States is being drug into this by nations that refuse to stand up to Russia themselves.
As mentioned above, Germany remains a member of NATO for the military protection benefits against Russia and yet still funnels billions of dollars to Russia. Other NATO members boost their welfare programs while outsourcing their national defense to the United States through alliances.
This brings us to the question I believe can be answered by our first president: Should the United States be bound up in permanent treaties that require massive amounts of taxpayer spending?
In 1796, President Washington forewarned the young nation of the danger of these lasting entanglements and insisted that the United States avoid permanent treaties and only rely on temporary, emergency treaties as needed. This is also the opinion I hold regarding these treaties.
Tyler Gregory is the vice-chairman of the Northwestern College Republicans Club.