And we seem to have forgotten that what pulled down the USSR was that defense spending was so high that domestic needs went unmet. That and a long pointless war in Afghanistan.
Joe: I suspect you’re aware as well that the ACTUAL budget is roughly TWICE what your graph shows, and that additional “black box” budget component goes directly to the MIC for “R & D”, and buying more junk, even in prototype stage, that does NOT WORK!!
@MStevenson58 – I’ve been through therapy. T’ain’t my psycosis, but I and my fellow Americans have to deal with it. They’re just not ready to see the truth.
The system itself is broken, and all the politicians are on the take from their corporate masters. Doesn’t matter if you vote Dem or Rep, Left or Right: they’re just two doors into the same room. We have to build a different room.
The Real Story of US defense spending. .Yes, Obama wants to reduce military spending as a portion of GDP. Ironically, the GOP did just that with the sequester. Meanwhile, many of the same people who say we are too broke to spend money at home, declare we must restore the funding, because “the military has to eat.”You’ve neatly managed to avoid actually taking a position yourself. ;^)
Toppling the Taliban regime & scattering the Al Qaeda training camps was a good idea. Did you know we pulled that off with only 1,000 ‘boots on the ground’? The occupation was a foolish mistake. Putting Karzai in power was Bush’s idea. There were far better choices out there, but they weren’t deemed sufficiently compliant to American interests. That all happened before Obama came to office. He inherited the bungle.Sadly, Obama believed Petraeus when he said we could stabilize the situation & went along with the generals’ surge. I wasn’t happy about that & I’m glad he finally came to his senses.
This is a joke, right? In the first place we are (except very nominally)no longer even in Iraq at all. And the number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan is at its lowest point in a decade, and will decrease to less than 40,000 by the beginning of next year, and to a very nominal amount by the end of 2014.
But, that is not even the most major mistake of the entire chart! The GDP of 1967 was less than $2 trillion, and even if you took some 10% of that instead of the 9.5% shown, it would only amount to $200 billion. And the current GDP is about $16 trillion. And if you took some 4% (the chart is predicting a level of 3.4% by 2015 and a level of some 5% in 2011, so a level of some 4% now is not unreasonable) of $16 trillion, it comes out so a budget of some $640 billion!! So, the chart actually shows just how much MORE we are spending now on our military than we were then. Heck, if we were still spending even just 5%, we would be spending some 800 billion, and if we were spending the same 9.5% we would be then spending some $1.5 trillion, or more than ALL of the other countries of the world combined!!
I’m used to seeing KAL’s strips and panels in The Economist’s black-and-white paper magazine rendering. It’s great to see them HERE in their full-color splendor. KAL also does a terrific 12-month full-color calendar that’s usually pitched in The Economist beginning in October or November of each year. I’ve kept the ones I bought, even though the year’s over.
Dtroutma over 10 years ago
Yes, do not disturb the MIC by actually using diplomacy.
sappha58 over 10 years ago
Too late; we’re already disturbed. What the US governent needs is intensive therapy.
drkala over 10 years ago
And we seem to have forgotten that what pulled down the USSR was that defense spending was so high that domestic needs went unmet. That and a long pointless war in Afghanistan.
rockngolfer over 10 years ago
Do you realize that nothing you say makes any sense?
Dtroutma over 10 years ago
Joe: I suspect you’re aware as well that the ACTUAL budget is roughly TWICE what your graph shows, and that additional “black box” budget component goes directly to the MIC for “R & D”, and buying more junk, even in prototype stage, that does NOT WORK!!
Only about 20% of the budget goes to personnel.
sappha58 over 10 years ago
@MStevenson58 – I’ve been through therapy. T’ain’t my psycosis, but I and my fellow Americans have to deal with it. They’re just not ready to see the truth.
sappha58 over 10 years ago
The system itself is broken, and all the politicians are on the take from their corporate masters. Doesn’t matter if you vote Dem or Rep, Left or Right: they’re just two doors into the same room. We have to build a different room.
Uncle Joe Premium Member over 10 years ago
The Real Story of US defense spending. .Yes, Obama wants to reduce military spending as a portion of GDP. Ironically, the GOP did just that with the sequester. Meanwhile, many of the same people who say we are too broke to spend money at home, declare we must restore the funding, because “the military has to eat.”You’ve neatly managed to avoid actually taking a position yourself. ;^)
Uncle Joe Premium Member over 10 years ago
Toppling the Taliban regime & scattering the Al Qaeda training camps was a good idea. Did you know we pulled that off with only 1,000 ‘boots on the ground’? The occupation was a foolish mistake. Putting Karzai in power was Bush’s idea. There were far better choices out there, but they weren’t deemed sufficiently compliant to American interests. That all happened before Obama came to office. He inherited the bungle.Sadly, Obama believed Petraeus when he said we could stabilize the situation & went along with the generals’ surge. I wasn’t happy about that & I’m glad he finally came to his senses.
frodo1008 over 10 years ago
This is a joke, right? In the first place we are (except very nominally)no longer even in Iraq at all. And the number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan is at its lowest point in a decade, and will decrease to less than 40,000 by the beginning of next year, and to a very nominal amount by the end of 2014.
But, that is not even the most major mistake of the entire chart! The GDP of 1967 was less than $2 trillion, and even if you took some 10% of that instead of the 9.5% shown, it would only amount to $200 billion. And the current GDP is about $16 trillion. And if you took some 4% (the chart is predicting a level of 3.4% by 2015 and a level of some 5% in 2011, so a level of some 4% now is not unreasonable) of $16 trillion, it comes out so a budget of some $640 billion!! So, the chart actually shows just how much MORE we are spending now on our military than we were then. Heck, if we were still spending even just 5%, we would be spending some 800 billion, and if we were spending the same 9.5% we would be then spending some $1.5 trillion, or more than ALL of the other countries of the world combined!!
Is not simple mathematics a wonderful thing???
mauimike6 over 10 years ago
I’m used to seeing KAL’s strips and panels in The Economist’s black-and-white paper magazine rendering. It’s great to see them HERE in their full-color splendor. KAL also does a terrific 12-month full-color calendar that’s usually pitched in The Economist beginning in October or November of each year. I’ve kept the ones I bought, even though the year’s over.