Military Spending in the Us
Military Spending in the US
The majority of college students in the US today, do not know what it is like to live in a nation that is not at war, and this is no different for myself. One of my own memories in elementary school was the attack on the world trade center on 9/11. I am sure that I share that memory with many others. Throughout our lives, we have known our country to be one that is constantly fighting with another. As I grow older, I realize how surrounded we are by issues concerning our military presence in other countries. I also begin to feel the consequences of our actions as a country. Much of our politicians’ time and effort is put into figuring out how to “bring our troops home” or how to “support our troops” while still keeping taxes down. In the end it is the American public who are funding our war with our taxes as well as paying the consequences with things such as raised oil prices. For my research paper I am going to discuss American military economics; it’s effects on the American public, and our current presidential candidates’ stances on military spending.
The military budget is a portion of the United States’ federal budget. It is used to pay the salaries, training, and health care of military personnel. It is also used to maintain arms, equipment, facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new weapons.
According to the Department of Defense Budget for the 2010 fiscal year, the president’s base budget for spending on overseas operations was $663.4 billion. The 2009 U.S. military budget accounts for approximately 40% of the total global arms spending. The US’s 2012 budget is 6 to 7 times larger than the $106 billion of the military budget of China. It is greater than the next twenty largest military spenders combined. Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts claims “if we do not make reductions approximating 25 percent of the military budget starting fairly soon, it will be impossible to continue to fund an adequate level
The majority of college students in the US today, do not know what it is like to live in a nation that is not at war, and this is no different for myself. One of my own memories in elementary school was the attack on the world trade center on 9/11. I am sure that I share that memory with many others. Throughout our lives, we have known our country to be one that is constantly fighting with another. As I grow older, I realize how surrounded we are by issues concerning our military presence in other countries. I also begin to feel the consequences of our actions as a country. Much of our politicians’ time and effort is put into figuring out how to “bring our troops home” or how to “support our troops” while still keeping taxes down. In the end it is the American public who are funding our war with our taxes as well as paying the consequences with things such as raised oil prices. For my research paper I am going to discuss American military economics; it’s effects on the American public, and our current presidential candidates’ stances on military spending.
The military budget is a portion of the United States’ federal budget. It is used to pay the salaries, training, and health care of military personnel. It is also used to maintain arms, equipment, facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new weapons.
According to the Department of Defense Budget for the 2010 fiscal year, the president’s base budget for spending on overseas operations was $663.4 billion. The 2009 U.S. military budget accounts for approximately 40% of the total global arms spending. The US’s 2012 budget is 6 to 7 times larger than the $106 billion of the military budget of China. It is greater than the next twenty largest military spenders combined. Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts claims “if we do not make reductions approximating 25 percent of the military budget starting fairly soon, it will be impossible to continue to fund an adequate level