DR. JACK MINTZ
President’s Fellow at the School of Public Policy,
University of Calgary

Across NATO countries, the clash between generous welfare promises and growing defence budgets is becoming impossible to ignore. Germany faces a pension crisis, Spain resists military spending hikes, Canada struggles under record debt, and France wrestles with austerity. As populations age and tax revenues lag, leaders are admitting what many have long suspected: the welfare state may no longer be affordable.

Will voters accept cutbacks to pensions and social programs in exchange for defence commitments? Or will governments keep borrowing to postpone hard choices? The debate is now at the heart of politics across Europe and North America.

Click here to read the full analysis.