SIMMONS SAYS: Playing in Toronto media glare not as tough as many believe

Calgary woman who went blind due to methanol poisoning starts petition for education

SUNshine Girl Desiree

City hall staff upbraided as yacht club thrown ‘lifeline’

GOLDSTEIN: Al-Quds Day shows how Canada tolerates intolerance

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

PARKER: United States needs fixing at home to defend itself abroad

We're in this situation because of the massive increase in federal spending and the massive increase in federal borrowing to finance the spending

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

In 2024, for the first time in almost a century, the United States spent more on financing its national debt than it did, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), on national defence. In 2024, interest on our national debt expenditures came in at 3.1% of GDP and defence spending at 2.9%.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Don't have an account? Create Account

This has been the case through this year, although it’s too soon to say what the picture will finally be for 2026. But it’s very close.

PARKER: United States needs fixing at home to defend itself abroad Back to video

Hoover Institution scholar Niall Ferguson notes that this is an ominous sign. He quotes what he calls Ferguson’s Law, after 18th-century Scottish political theorist Adam Ferguson.

Ferguson concluded, after doing an extensive study of history, that, per Niall Ferguson, “any great power that spends more on debt service than on defence risks ceasing to be a great power.”

We’re in this situation because of the massive increase in federal spending and the massive increase in federal borrowing to finance the spending. At the same time, defence spending as a percentage of GDP hovers at a historically low point.

Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

‘Peace through strength’

President Donald Trump wants to change this situation and is proposing a 50% increase in defence spending for 2027, increasing it from around $1 trillion now to $1.5 trillion in 2027. As a percentage of GDP, it gets defence spending up from the current 3%, approximately, to 4.5%.

For a little more perspective, President Ronald Reagan, under whose watch the Soviet Union collapsed, got defence spending up to almost 7% of GDP.

This was Reagan’s idea of “peace through strength.”

However, from what I see, the threats and challenges our nation faces today are more formidable than those Reagan confronted.

Then, there was one main adversary — the Soviet Union. Today, we still must contend with a very evil and energetic Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. In addition, we must deal with China, which, in my view, is a greater threat than the Soviet Union ever was. The Soviet economy never matched what the Chinese are doing. Plus, China is equally aggressive with a clear motive for global domination. And we have, in addition, the potential tinder box of Taiwan, which China views as its own child that ran away from home, but whose independence has practical considerations (it’s a major locus of semiconductor manufacturing) as well as ideological considerations (it’s free).

With all this in the background, the U.S. today is engaged in real hostilities with Iran and its maniacal regime, which hates us and aspires to be a nuclear power.

U.S. running short of ammo

Per a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, the United States is indeed running short of ammo.

Per the coverage, we are running low on Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles. Also, we’re not producing enough interceptors, Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) and Patriot missiles.

Per the WSJ: “The Iranians have fired at least 500 ballistic missiles. The public number for U.S. THAAD production is only 96 per year.”

Meanwhile, per Seth G. Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, China is building a war machine far outpacing the U.S. Per Jones, “In 2024 alone, China’s largest state-owned shipbuilder built more vessels by tonnage than the entire U.S. shipbuilding industry has since the end of World War II.”

So, it’s on target that Trump wants a 50% increase — $500 billion — in defence spending for 2027. But the question remains: When we are running multi-trillion-dollar deficits, where do we get $500 billion?

PARKER: America is doing what must be done in Iran

PARKER: At America's 250th birthday, Democrats want a different country

PARKER: My tribute to the conservative genius of Ed Feulner and Ed Crane

Trump says tariffs will raise the funds. However, the Supreme Court just ruled that the authority the president has been using for tariffs is unconstitutional.

Here’s something to think about. Per the U.S. General Accountability Office, the U.S. government loses $233 to $521 billion annually in fraud. Of this, 60% is in Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.

Perhaps it’s time for major reform in domestic entitlement programs so we can pay to defend our nation.

Star Parker is the founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education 

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

SIMMONS SAYS: Playing in Toronto media glare not as tough as many believe Toronto Maple Leafs

SIMMONS SAYS: Playing in Toronto media glare not as tough as many believe

Calgary woman who went blind due to methanol poisoning starts petition for education Canada

Calgary woman who went blind due to methanol poisoning starts petition for education

SUNshine Girl Desiree Sunshine Girls

SUNshine Girl Desiree

City hall staff upbraided as yacht club thrown ‘lifeline’ Toronto & GTA

City hall staff upbraided as yacht club thrown ‘lifeline’

GOLDSTEIN: Al-Quds Day shows how Canada tolerates intolerance Columnists

GOLDSTEIN: Al-Quds Day shows how Canada tolerates intolerance

© Toronto Sun