By: William Castillo
An aspect to being an adult that almost nobody looks forward to is paying taxes, which require time, and end up taking some of your salary you worked hard for. However, the positive side of paying taxes is that education, roads, social security, medicare, and defense benefits are provided. However, this poses the question, does the United States really need as much money allocated toward the military as typical, which is 934 billion (Amadeo)?
It is clear that the military is important for the US, not only to provide national defense, but also does it provide 1.4 million jobs (amount of active duty veterans), which is another benefit to the economy, as this limits unemployment. However, is 887.8 billion dollars allocated to defense a waste (National Priorities)? Globally, the USA spends the most amount of money on defense compared to any other country, and if you add up all of the rest if the global military spending amounts, they are not even 75% of the US’ spending alone, see figure below.. Whether we spend so much money as a fear tactic to show other countries our defense is strong, or to actually make productive use of this money, this amount is incredibly large compared to other important areas of society such as education. Regardless if you believe that this much money being spent on defense is necessary or not, the amount of waste that occurs simultaneously with always being war ready is unnecessary and it can be agreed that their funding is incredibly high.
In reference to this waste, William Hartung, who is the Project Director of the Center for International Policies Arms and Security, states that there is an “excess of usable military equipment relative to any possible need” (Paulhus). It is understood that there needs to be capital allotment for non sustainable or reusable equipment such as fuel, electricity, salaries, and bullets, but with the amount only increasing in terms of spending, this is not necessary due to their needs already being fulfilled. This quote means that everything they might need, they already have, and their consistent budget allotment does not line up with this demand, which is much less than their supply.
Not only do they already have access to their current necessities, the working paraphernalia that they do not use ends up wasted. Junkyards are where many planes, and other aircrafts like helicopters end up, and 410 tons of equipment that functions is burned daily (Paulhus). The equipment that can be used is wasted as they have a seemingly endless budget to purchase new equipment, proving their spending in vain.
In conclusion, with a less amount of money being allocated toward military spending, the amount of waste can be minimized, and have such money redistributed toward other programs that can better society. Although military defense is crucial in protecting citizens and providing jobs, their amount of waste is not good for the economy (as significant budget cuts can be made that would not affect them if proper spending occurred) or for the environment. Do you think that the military needs more or less funding? What reforms does the military fund need?
Works Cited
Amadeo, Kimberly. “Why Military Spending Is More Than You Think It Is.” The Balance, 3 Sept. 2020, www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320#:~:text=Estimated U.S. military spending is,Defense alone 2.
Collins, Patrick. “Why Does the US Spend So Much on Defense?” Defense One, Defense One, 27 Jan. 2020, www.defenseone.com/ideas/2020/01/why-does-us-spend-so-much-defense/162657/.
“The Militarized Budget 2020.” National Priorities Project, www.nationalpriorities.org/analysis/2020/militarized-budget-2020/.
“Waste, Greed, and Fraud: The Business That Makes the World's Greatest Army.” The Institute of Politics at Harvard University, iop.harvard.edu/get-involved/harvard-political-review/waste-greed-and-fraud-business-makes-world’s-greatest-army.
Dang, I knew the USA spent a lot on its military but I didn't know that so much equipment just goes to waste every year. I think that in relation to our debt, we are overspending on the military a lot if the military can just throw away helicopters or planes they. Good post.
ReplyDeleteAshley Anderson - I feel like military spending is a topic that isn't really discussed much, which is why I think it is so cool that you decided to do a blog post on it! For starters, I love how you included both a pie chart and graph of the amount of money that is put towards our military. I think all of the data you included really helps strengthen your argument! A question I actually have for you in regards to military spending is: has the military always gotten this much money in the past? In your 2019 graph, it states that $732 billion dollars has been put towards the U.S military... in just a year!. This is honestly an inane amount, and truly makes me wonder whether this much money is needed for our military (even though the military is extremely important).
ReplyDeleteI didn't know how much the military actually spent every year on equipment. I personally think that the military's funding could be part of our national debt but only a very small one.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely heard of a portion of taxes going towards the military, but I was unaware and also alarmed of how exceeding that percentage is. I feel like many people would be too. With that being said, I am happy you drew attention to this topic. I’m wondering if there is more than meets the eye as far as where that money towards the military is going, and thinking of that is quite unsettling. Overall, your blog post drew great awareness to the topic and it is definitely an interesting topic to ponder on.
ReplyDeleteCheyenne Kaatz - Because I don’t know much about the Military nor their financial situation, your blog provided me with so much information and a better understanding of it. I had no clue that the US spends so much money on Military compared to other countries, and how much money they spent every year on equipment was insane. Adding the informational graphs and charts are a nice touch to your blog as you can see the percentages and amounts in each location. I do too agree that the amount of waste is not good for the economy so I wonder what would happen if some budget cuts were made.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I knew the percentage spent on the military I was unaware that the equipment burns if there is no further use to the government. It really makes me wonder when most of our tax money goes to a military that isn't really fighting any huge wars and burns equipment if it's really the best choice. Areas like agriculture have only 1% of the budget yet they produce the food we eat and could use the money much more than the military. This article was a great way to open my eyes further to the absolutely ridiculous amount we spend on the military.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don’t think we need as much military budget as we have. Sure, it’s nice, as it gives us a sense of security and safety, but we don’t need that much. Fun fact: If you combined all of the United States ships that have been converted into museums or otherwise, it would make up the second largest navy in the world, right after our own. I believe we should move some of the Military budget to not only education and healthcare (as they are important), but also to NASA and space exploration programs. The US expanding into space, perhaps with a moon base or Mars colony, will really show other nations what we are capable of, rather than just trying to flex on them with military superiority. Where do you think our spending should go instead of the military?
ReplyDeleteReading your blog post really made me think about how much money the government spends and where all the money goes. Seeing the chart that compares the amount of money the U.S spends on the military compared to other countries truly made me think of how much money is really needed for our military. Obviously the military is very important to our country and needs funding, but if money is being wasted maybe there is a way to better use the money. I had no clue that 64.5% of tax money is put towards the military. Where other categories such as science, unemployment, and government only receive 3%. This does seem a little unbalanced if money is being wasted in other categories. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your topic and really made me think about where tax money goes! (Ally Longden)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insight on this problem. I agree that the government spends far too much on the military. I like to think about the ways our society could benefit from better funding to education and domestic task forces, such as the police and those who respond to mental health crises. Without the funding to the military, there could be better police training to allow different task forces to answer specific emergency calls, such as domestic offenses vs felonies. As far as education goes, inner city schools could see the funding they need. Libraries could modernize to include tablets, computers, and 3d printers. Housing and veteran care could see an increase. America would be much better if the focus of our society was peace and progress, rather than guns and fear tactics.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat I understand the argument that the military should be so highly funded; we are less likely to be threatened if our defenses are the strongest in the world. On the other hand, though, I think our country would be just as safe if we cut our spending in half, as we would still be the country that spends the most on the military. Also, with our absurd current spending as seen in your chart, we would be about an equal match with the next 10 biggest militaries combined. That seems like it would be very threatening to other countries, and personally I think America should be seen as an ally rather than a threat to other countries. I feel like some day, our huge military may become a problem and the rest of the world may fight against it if we don't immensely cut down our spending.
ReplyDeleteI always questioned why the military budget was always high/increasing and how much our taxes go towards it but I never thought about the waste that affects the economy and environment. I think that was a really interesting aspect to look at on this military budget topic. I like the bar graphs that you showed of how the United States compares to different countries with lower budgets for their armed forces. I agree that the amount of money that the military has, what are the uses? This amount of money should go into areas that society needs help with like housing, education and public services. Like what you mentioned, the money is because of fear tactics and the US’s judgement on having strong defense. The money stored for the military is going to waste and the materials used are going to waste too. You did an awesome job!
ReplyDeleteBefore reading your blog, I didn't know how much money the military had and how much of it they were spending. I definitely agree that the money that is not being used would be great for other programs you listed such as medicare. I also thought it was very interesting to read that the military provides over 1.4 million jobs, which is great for the economy.
ReplyDeleteI've in previous history classes about how much the US spends on military funding, but I didn't realize how large that number actually is. I completely agree with you that the money being spent isn't completely necessary and could be spent on other useful things. I thought it was really interesting that you mentioned the US spending all this money on defense as a tactic to induce fear in other countries. That's something I never really would have put much thought to before reading your post. You did a great job, I really learned a lot from your post!
ReplyDeleteIt would cost just $80 billion dollars a year to fully subsidize ALL public college educations, yet we constantly hear that we don't have the money for that. Though, when it comes to dropping bombs on civilians in foreign countries, it seems the United States has all the money in the world.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is a topic that not much people know about. I, myself was shocked to hear that the national debt was that high let alone that so much money was designated towards the military. Although many people believe that the military needs to have so much funding I think that they could continue to thrive with a lesser amount of their funding. This cut spending could be put towards some more pressing issues like the improvement of education and the college debt.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know that 410 tons of equipment is burned daily. That is a lot of wasted money and equipment. I don’t think the military needs close to $934 billion dollars. I feel as though that money could be better spent elsewhere, whether it be by the actual taxpayers or by the government itself. The fact that we spend this amount of money on the military is also questionable because we aren’t actively in a war, and we are still spending more than 75% more than other countries.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this blog, I was aware that the U.S. Military has a lot of funding. However, I was unaware of the specific amount and how high it is. I feel as if this could be smaller but keep it the leading topic in the budget. The Military needs the funding because in History we learn about these third-world countries who get invaded by other countries who have no defense. We need the military funding so that way we can have protection and order if an attack or invasion occurred. Great Visuals.
ReplyDeletei dont quite know why you dont like how much money they get. There budget should be where it is. Our country is one of the best for defense because our budget is so big. if we cut that where do you want that money to go, your pocket? If the budget drops we wont be as good.
ReplyDeleteI guess I didn't truly understand how much money is being spent on the US military, but I feel as if it is our duty to support our troops. I personally don't see myself joining the military in the future, but I am more than willing to supply the military with money to try and better our soldier's lives. I understand it is a great deal of money but I will never put a price on supporting the people who sacrifice so much to support our country.
ReplyDeleteI see you point of view where the amount of money being put towards the military is probably more then we really need. I had no idea that 410 tons of equipment goes to waste everyday simply because the military has no use for it. I think that we as country could afford to cut down the amount of money we are spending on the military so we could put those unused funds towards some of the other underfunded programs that were shown in your chart. Lets say the military cut there funding down to spending 500 billion opposed to the 934. If you could choose where the 434 billion dollars that got taken out of the military budget could go where would you now choose to put that money, education, housing, transportation...?
ReplyDeleteI chose to read this article because I always hear about people complaining of how high military funding. After reading this article, I am shocked to see how much the US is funding for military compared to other countries. The graph was a good visual to show that the next ten countries' military funding combined is still less than what the US is.
ReplyDeleteI found it really interesting that 887 billion dollars from government taxes are going towards the military. Having 64.5% of taxes going towards the military I wonder if the citizens of the US believe that this is not a waste? I know that you believe that it is a waste of money, but I wonder what the results would be if you surveyed our class or other people living in the US. I understand your point that it is a whole lot of money that is being used for the military, but don’t you think our government knows what they’re doing and are doing this for a good reason? I loved reading about this and had no idea how much money is really spent on the military!
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ReplyDeleteI really like how you asked a question rather than just stating your opinion. I also think it is crucial to have a lot of money being spent on the military. So much depends on that at the end of the day I would rather be over prepared than under prepared if anything were to go down. I also can agree there's definitely some waste but it is hard to see how much is actually being wasted or not because I am sure they are working on a lot of classified projects and programs that we cant see. One waste I have read about is the F-35 figherjet program. The Jet is already around 200 billion over budget and also 4 years behind. At the end of the day I believe there's a lot of waste but don't know to what extent.
Wasn't aware that the Military spends that much money then goes ahead and burns it. That money could go to somewhere else that needs funding.
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