MILITARY SPENDING: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
HOW MUCH DO WE SPEND?
36%, 596 billion dollars. In 2015, the U.S. Federal Government spent 596 billion dollars on military spending, accounting for 36% of the global military budget. The number alone is enough to turn heads and cause controversy, but in a time when there are so many issues, economic, social, and environmental- you name it, the political debate over this one issue is big enough to influence the rest of them. There are questions to be answered. How can we make our citizens safe? How can we make our citizens feel safe? At what point does our military spending begin to hurt our interests rather than help us? The answers to these questions aren’t clear cut. However, one thing is clear: The Federal Government can decrease military spending without putting the country’s citizens or our interests, at home or abroad, in any jeopardy.
HOW MUCH DID WE USED TO SPEND?
Since World War II, the United States’ military budget has fluctuated with peaks during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and most recently, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration began to steadily decrease military expenditures.
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HOW OLD IS OUR MILITARY?
Some American tank and aircraft models have been in use for 30, 50 and even 60 years.
WHO CARES?
Politicians
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Academics
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Consituents
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WHAT NOW?
American citizens need to ask themselves: How should these excess military expenditures be spent? There are many viable options that would be more productive than their current use; maybe they can go towards domestic programs that aim to reduce poverty or increase employment; or maybe they can go towards foreign affairs in an effort to improve relationships with other countries. Whatever the answer might be, it is up to American citizens to make it happen.
References
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Forbes, J. Randy. “Failing to bolster the U.S. Navy in the face of 21st-century maritime threats could prove disastrous to the international order.” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 140 Issue 3, p16-20. 5p. ProQuest, Accessed Mar 30 2018
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French, David. “Yes, It’s Time to Increase Defense Spending.” National Review, 27 Feb. 2017, nationalreview.com/blog/corner/yes-its-time-increase-defense-spending/.
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Korb, Lawrence J. “Trump’s Defense Spending Increase Could Actually Make the U.S. Less Safe.” Fortune, 5 Mar. 2017, fortune.com/2017/03/05/donald-trump-defense-spending-military-increase-national-security/.
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Loesche, Dyfed and Felix Richter. “Infographic: Military Spending in Perspective.”Statista Infographics, Statista, 25 Apr. 2017, www.statista.com/chart/9097/military-expenditure-of-selected-countries/.
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McCandless, David. “The Beauty of Data Visualization.” TED, July, 2010,
www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization
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McGee, Robert W. “U.S. Military Spending: A Look at Some Statistics.” SSRN, 4 Mar. 2017, dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2927550. Accessed Mar 30 2018
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Morrongiello, Gabby. “Trump’s Budget Boosts Military Spending, Slashes Programs for the Poor.” New York Post, 23 May 2017, nypost.com/2017/05/23/trump-submits-taxpayer-first-budget-to congress/.
Rubio, Marco, and Tom Cotton. “Rubio, Cotton: Why Defense Budget Must Grow.”CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Mar. 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/opinions/rubio-cotton-defense-cuts/index.html.
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Sanders, Bernie. “What Foreign Policy Is: Our Safety and Welfare is Bound up with the Safety and Welfare of Others around the World.” Vital Speeches of the Day, vol. 83, no. 11, Nov. 2017, pp. 303-308. EBSCOhost, http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=e83e8f5e-916b-403f-a69f 0cd2fb9fd3e0%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=125990174&db=a9h
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Showley, Roger. “Defense Spending Boost: Pros and Cons.” Sandiegouniontribune.com, San Diego Tribune, 10 Mar. 2017, www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/economy/sd-fi-econometer12march-20170309-htmlstory.html.
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Tice, Jim. “Army Shrinks to Smallest Level since before World War II.” Armytimes.com, Army Times, 7 Aug. 2017, www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2016/05/07/army-shrinks-to-smallest-level-since-before-world-war-ii/.