Czech normies normally flip out at this suggestion. This is a very unpopular opinion here in Czechia but I will voice it anyway…
NATO is going to cost us. Donald Trump wants an alliance. He does not want America to be our daddy. He wants defense partners that would spend on defense like Murica does. Presumably buying American weapons systems, and making America rich. Trump wants 5% of GDP to be spent on defense. The Czech minister for European affairs…
We have a minister for European Affairs
…says we can increase defense spending by increasing taxes. And my friends, I don’t want parasites like this minister to be advocating for bigger taxes. I want lower taxes, and a thinner state. No useless ministers, and no large military budgets.
If you look at neighboring countries like Austria, or Switzerland (Switzerland is like 5 hour drive from here), both of which are not in NATO, have very low defense budgets. Austria 0.84%, and Switzerland 0.70%. Somehow they don’t need NATO for defense, even the recent invasion of Ukraine didn’t make them join, unlike Scandinavia. For some reason they are not afraid of Putin.
More NATO spending will mean less money for healthcare and education. There is no free college or healthcare in the US. While I am on of those that thinks this sector ought to be more privatized but there needs to some government involvement as this is imperative for maintaining high level of human capital needed for development.
Supporters of NATO are telling us that if we get out of there, we will need to spend more on defense. Like 26% of GDP as did Czechoslovakia in the interwar period. But Czechoslovakia was literally surrounded on all sides by hostile states with territorial pretensions. Czechia doesn’t have this problem. So we either have a choice, be a worthy ally to Murica or decide our own defense policy.
Insomniac Resurrected 