We have heard charges from the Romney-Ryan camp that the Obama administration will cut the defense budget while the Obama camp has countered that their opponents are proposing a $2 trillion increase without saying how they will pay for it.
Writing in Foreign Policy, Thomas Ricks takes a look at where these numbers come from. What Ricks shows is that under the Obama plan, defense spending would go up each year, for a total of $5.75 trillion over the next ten years. There are two Romney plans both indexed to GDP in different ways, and the ‘cheaper’ one would result in a total expenditure of $7.81 trillion. Hence the increase of $2 trillion.
One thing to note is that defense budgets are never ‘cut’ in the way that you are I would use that term, in the sense of the numerical value decreasing. They always go up but when adjusted for inflation they can decrease. One must realize, though, that a lot of defense spending is hidden in other places, making it hard to get the exact figure. So one must always take the official figures with a large grain of salt. It is more like a lower limit than an actual figure.
But even with that caveat, if defense expenditures go up by less than some historical baseline expectation of how much they were expected to rise (usually a generous figure), then politicians boast that they have made cuts and the media dutifully reports it as such. Here is a graph that shows defense spending over the last half century,
As I’ve been prone to think: Obama is the best Republican president that we’ve had since Eisenhower, but I certainly hope he is not replaced by Rommney.
defense spending would go up each year, for a total of $5.75 trillion over the next ten years.
Augh! That’s a lot of money! Jesus cucking frist how many billion-dollar bombers and boats do those idiots need!?!?
Marcus Ranum, #2: Jesus cucking frist how many billion-dollar bombers and boats do those idiots need!?!?
You mean do we need. And we need a lot.
I mean, can you imagine the hurt that international businesses would experience of some tin pot dictator decided to charge more for the nation’s national resources and then use the money to improve the quality of life for its citizens? Or some totalitarian hell hole decided to allow workers to form unions and force concessions from factory and plantation workers?
I shudder to think about a world where every child grew up literate!
I’ve seen some data about our defense budget compared to other countries. We spend more than the next xx countries combined (can’t recall the number). Isn’t it time this country started talking about leveling the defense budget? Why do we need more defense money than pretty much the whole rest of the world combined?
In case the rest of the world decides to gang up on us all at once. While allied with the mole people army.
Part of the reason is that defense spending has always been a way to divert huge amounts of public money to giant corporations. Politicians could never say that they want to give billions to Lockheed, GE, and the like. But say that you are spending to defend the country and you get a pass. This is why there always needs to be an enemy of the day to provide a justification. Notice how after the cold war ended (which seemed like ti would never end), the war on drugs came along and then the war on terror, which will never end?
Another reason of course is so that you have the ability to threaten, attack, and invade countries that try to thwart your geopolitical ambitions, like the oil-rich countries.
Part of the reason is that defense spending has always been a way to divert huge amounts of public money to giant corporations.
You mean like… (shudder) corporate welfare?? But! Free market! Efficiency! Invisibul hand! Platinum spoon!