Would you pay more tax to boost defence spending

[trainermush]

Obviously we are now in a more precarious position & defence spending has been underfunded for some time. RR had just said we need to spend more money & she will but without breaking her fiscal rules,

"So we will stick to our fiscal rules. But recognising the priority of defence spending in the world that we live in today means that we will have to make difficult choices so that we can spend that money that is needed to keep our country safe."

Mulling it over & even though I think I pay enough tax I would pay more each month towards this (cut back in other areas) as opposed to labour cutting back on something else. I guess thinking about my dc & other loved ones has changed my mind somewhat now things appear more bleak. What do others think?
Conscription of young people terrifies me even though my dc are too young.

I think someone who enters a profession by choice and risks their life to defend you deserves a bit of respect to be honest - I come from a deprived seaside town where some people I knew went into the army rather than on benefits

Who needs medical staff

I think we will all have to pay more for defence spending but that doesn’t just mean for weapons it is also having the means of production so that last blast furnace in wales should be nationalised. We need to ensure energy, food and materials/manufacturing security as well as weapons etc

Use judicious cuts to services. Train drivers do not need to be paid nearly as much. No one in the public sector should be paid more than the PM for example.

I assume during the WW1 & 2 days the rich were less mobile & did have to contribute?

The thing with tax is that you don’t really get a say in what you pay! However given that there seems a good chance that American foreign policy will align with Russia rather than Europe I would support a small tax increase to support needed increase in defence spending. It can’t be at the expense of health or education spending. I think recommitment to foreign aid as a soft diplomatic tool would also be a good idea at this point.

It does feel like taxes only ever go up and yet the government never has enough money..

I think there was something called conscription. And the war effort. And big houses were requisitioned for a start. So the rich weren't immune.

Let's face it. It's going to happen..I'd start investing in arms manufacturers (if I had any spare cash but unfortunate Rachel Reeves has given it to train drivers and thrown it down a black hole).

No way.
This government need to use the money they already have more effectively, like cutting foreign aid and using the £14 billion in the kitty to give our troops something to fight with.

Use judicious cuts to services. Train drivers do not need to be paid nearly as much. No one in the public sector should be paid more than the PM for example.

Cutting train drivers pay isn't going to raise much.

Why should no one earn more than the PM, successive ones have taken cuts so their salaries have not kept pace with inflation and it's a political choice.

I'm not sure why the obsession with train drivers

It's because welfare has grown so much since the end of the second world war and we now spend vast sums on benefits rather than defending ourselves. We no longer have the peace dividend unfortunately so we are going to have to cut our cloth.

Back in the day it was a pretty common career path to go into the forces from private schools - no idea if it is now though

You’re obsessed with train drivers which are a miniscule part of the public sector.

Yes.

Note that Civil Service departments have been told to prepare for 11% budget cuts for 2026-2027.

That's where the money will come from at the moment. We need to increase taxes.

Same, tbh, but I'd go with borrowing first - especially considering the short term economic stimulus effect of defence procurement.

Do you mean higher borrowing?

We're maxed out hence the IMF warning on incoming events. The debt servicing is already higher than the defence budget.

There won't be a choice soon. That's the problem. It's pretty clear things are going wrong and the world is highly volatile. We need to spend money on defence so our kids don't have to fight. My boys are fighting age. I do not want them to have to go to war.

I suppose they could means test DLA & AA but would that raise much?

Borrowing for defence is a completely different ball game. War changes everything. It took us until 2006 to finish paying for WW2.

They are a symbol of the government's recklessness in giving huge payrises to already well paid sectors with no reform in return. Profligate and then arguing that we have no money left to defend our country.

My boys are fighting age. I do not want them to have to go to war.

I don't want young people to go to war so as I said I would go without to contribute.

Well let's give up then. I'm sure we can all learn mandarin. Easy language.

Hence the IMF warning.

It's why they said the risk existed.

We're maxed out hence the IMF warning on incoming events. The debt servicing is already higher than the defence budget.

I know we shouldn't but I assumed war time was different.

@trainermush how does it work?

Surely the IMF warn countries to not do this incase a major event such as war or pandemic arise

Wasn't tax originally for defence and then it sort of grew to other areas.

I'm inclined to feel increased defence spending would result in conscription being less likely. Presumably good equipment and well trained people are better defence than going call up all the young mem as cannon fodder as we didn't keep up to date with stuff.

So yes, I guess I would.

No idea what I'd cut. But maybe spending in defence would create growth.