U.S. Military Spending almost equals Rest of the World, Combined:

[amborin]

snip

"The U.S. spends almost as much on military spending as the entire rest of the world combined, and spends roughly six times more than the second-largest spender, China. Even as the U.S. sunk under increasingly crippling levels of debt over the last decade, defense spending rose steadily, sometimes precipitously. That explosion occurred even as overall military spending in the rest of the world decreased, thus expanding the already-vast gap between our expenditures and the world's. As one "defense" spending watchdog group put it: "The US military budget was almost 29 times as large as the combined spending of the six 'rogue' states (Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) who spent $14.65 billion." To get a sense for how thoroughly military spending dominates our national budget, consider this chart showing where Americans' tax revenue goes:

Since much of that overall spending is mandatory, military spending -- all of which is discretionary -- accounts for over 50% of discretionary government spending. Yet it's absolutely forbidden to even contemplate reducing it as a means of reducing our debt or deficit. To the contrary, Obama ran on a platform of increasing military spending, and that is one of the few pledges he is faithfully and enthusiastically filling (while violating his pledge not to use deceitful budgetary tricks to fund our wars):

President Barack Obama will ask Congress for an additional $33 billion to fight unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of a record $708 billion for the Defense Department next year, The Associated Press has learned.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/26-2

[thunder rising]

1. I thinks I see a goal.

Of course over spending on the military is what brought down the Soviet Union ... but that's just history.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. A national tragedy!

It appears that the US has become merely the big stick used by global corporations to get their way in the world. We are the "muscle" that protects the piles of money acquired by a very tiny group of outrageously wealthy people.

In the end though, it is this type of thing that causes the death of empires. We are not special and this type of spending will begin to cause severe political unrest as more millions of Americans fall into poverty from lack of jobs.

[classysassy]

3. Private armies for the warhawks

let big business recruit their own armies,why should we pay for their misadventures into foreign countries.The oil companies could hire Ollie North to lead their thugs into war against the oil producers of the world.WalMart could hire blackwater to keep the peasants in line in poor foreign lands.Since we want have those hugh cost that go with wars,we could have free health care,plenty of food for te poor and hungry,clean air for all Americans,clean elections,because the business giants will have to use their own money to wage wars of agression against the poor and helpless people of the world.

[slay]

4. The Wars For Profit machine we have in place is horrible and should be illegal.

We don't even declare war anymore - we just invade. That amount of money being spent on weapons and murdering people is just sickening. Imagine the good we could do or could have done with all that death money. :cry:

[lefthandedlefty]

5. I would like see their budget cut 50 percent this year

and then 5 percent per year for the next 5 years and not give retirement untill age 65.

[Selatius]

6. We need an overwhelming military machine to protect corporate empires across the world.

Wherever American business interests have gone, so too has the US military. In the old days, empires would just invade countries and subjugate them with armies to make them do what they want. Nowadays, corporations do the invading and pillaging, and the US military only comes in after the corporations bribe the indigenous politicians into building bases for use by the Americans. We can take over entire countries without firing a bullet this way. All you have to do is bribe the politicians who run the country to open the country up for exploitation and the selling off of resources.

[pleah]

7. What a disgrace that we spend this much of our treasure and blood for oil. n/t