Jennifer Rubin (WAPO) says US Defense Budget is at "historic low" -- readers aren't buying it.

[Hannah Bell]

President Obama’s speech last night was met with a mixture of praise and incredulity by the right. Many saw a complete conversion — “Kennedyesque,” is how Robert Kagan described it. (“Bushian” for some of us.) Others saw the gap between what was promised not only in Libya and what Obama was willing to commit American forces to do...

So why in the world would the president be cutting our defense budget..? budget-cutting is all the rage, and here’s where Obama’s policy conflicts with his rhetoric. Last June , Mackenzie Eaglen, writing for the Heritage Foundation, observed that defense spending is at a historic low as a percentage of GDP...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/obama-needs-a-defense-budget-to-match-his-vision/2011/03/04/AFyAMbvB_blog.html


Lots more crap citing Heritage, AEI...


What was hopeful that most of the readers' comments I saw pretty much said "Jennifer Rubin is a big fat liar"

[krispos42]

1. It's about normal as a % of the GDP

It's about 5% and it's been that way since Vietnam ended.

But that doesn't change the fact that a) it's a huge chunk of the discretionary budget, b) a huge chunk of the budget is for paying interest on the loans, c) it's still a lot of money in an absolute sense, d) it's a lot compared to the rest of the world, and e) we have a pretty big deficit.

[Hannah Bell]

2. Spending on "Defense" alone is about what it was during the Cold War in

inflation-adjusted terms.

Not to mention spending on crap that's essentially military, i.e. "Homeland Security".

[krispos42]

3. Neat graph!

Right click-save.


Yeah, we've been in a perpetual war economy since 1942. Just had a lot of years without any casualties or shooting or anything.

:sigh:

[Harmony Blue]

4. Not only that but

5% of the U.S. GDP is a lot more than probably all of Europe.

[provis99]

5. interesting chart. Where did you get it?

I'd like to see how defense spending today compares to World War 2, if figures are available.

[daa]

10. Its 20% not 5%

[toddwv]

6. Lol, they locked the comments pretty quickly.

[Hannah Bell]

7. not before rubin & the wapo bought a clue, hopefully.

[Old and In the Way]

8. I have a problem with using a % of GDP as a metric for gaging defense spending.

Are our 'enemies' growing their threat at the same rate as our GDP? Does spending 4% in a 10 trillion dollar economy mean were less militant than when we were spending 8% in a trillion dollar economy? Why is % of GDP useful in determining the % we spend on defense? All that guarantees is that defense spending can go on and on and on without having to justify it's existence. We didn't have to invade Iraq. We didn't have to worm our way into a undefinable conflict in Afghanistan. The problem with the defense budget is it's a sledge hammer looking for 5 penny nails to pound. While we're spending 5% of GDP "defending" American interests, are kids are getting a lousier education, our infrastructure is rotting, and the so-called American Dream is turning into a nightmare. A few more decades of this and we won't have any American way of life worth defending.

[Welibs]

9. Make GE, Harley, McDonald's pay back 3.3 trillion in bailouts from 2008.

The budget Just for overseas operations is around 678 billion and the entire military budget is over 1.4 TRILLION DOLLARS.

We have something like 1160 bases around the world. No one really knows exactly how many there are but that's about average for the number I have read on various sites. Some have been in place since WWII and they are obsolete and strategically out-dated! The world as changed drastically in the last 65 years and they should be shutting down about half of them.

And these budgets don't account for the medical care the vets need when they come home, medical equipment, pschiatric services, psychology treatment etc. That will double it at least!

They should be carving up the military budget by initially shutting down half of these bases. I would bet we could save maybe 250 billion in one year if we shut all of this down. Then we could get rid of the contractors that are bleeding us like leeches with fraulent overbilling and shoddy work that electrocuted what, 16 soldiers I think? Ban earmarks until the economy is soaring and we can afford it, repeal tax cuts for the billionaires and the one that really makes my blood boil....

MAKE COMPANIES LIKE GE, HARLEY DAVIDSON, McDonalds, Verizon and the rest who got part of a 3.3 trillion dollar secret bailout in 2008, pay that money back. IT'S ALMOST 25% OF OUR NATIONAL DEBT!