Canada

That's short term thinking. I totally get where you're coming from, but the world has let Russia get away with too much already. They need to be stopped or it's going to be so so so much more painful for all of us than the funding cuts we're talking about. If Ukraine falls we won't have a war on our doorstep tomorrow, but it's a domino that will destabilize the peace we prosper from and may very well bring about the next big war. Clearly that's bad for Canada.

Too often we find ourselves in these zero sum mindsets. If we do X we could have been investing in our own Y. We can and should do both. We don't need to drag Canada into the war and start converting our automotive plants into tank factories, that's way too far, but we do need to pay our fair share (the amount we agreed to if not more) to make sure that we keep this era of peace alive. It's the right thing to do, and it's good for Canada in the long run too.

The world is a complicated place with lots of things going on simultaneously. We have to be able to tackle multiple issues at the same time. If the Liberals are saying we need to cut our social programs to fund the military, then say fuck no, fund the military AND the social programs. Tax the wealthy more, nationalize an industry that has gotten too fat, find a way to bring in money not at the cost of citizens. If we have to cinch our belts a little in the short term so be it, but it's not my preference and we shouldn't let our politicians give us these binary options.

You don't seem to have a firm grasp of mutual defense pacts like NATO. Our NATO spending commitments have nothing to do with Ukraine and everything about defending ourselves and our NATO partners from a clear and present danger (Russia) and an evolving threat (US going rogue/insanely stupid).

Poland has good reason to fear Russia and war is on their doorstep. As a member of NATO, their fears are our fears.