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3.5% of GDP. But something like 15% of our revenue. And more than 50% of discretionary spending. So, of the money we get to direct each year to support America
by djtriptych 9y ago
3.5% of GDP.
But something like 15% of our revenue.
And more than 50% of discretionary spending.
So, of the money we get to direct each year to support American interests, half goes to the military.
- foota 9y agoWould be interesting to see this in comparison to other countries. My guess is that their spending as percent of government revenue is much much lower.
- rayiner 9y ago> So, of the money we get to direct each year to support American interests, half goes to the military. Well no, because the portion of the budget that's non-discretionary spending also goes towards supporting American interests, and so does state and local spending. Also, the relatively high percentage of the budget spent on defense simply reflects the fact that government in the U.S. is more limited in scope. E.g. the U.S. spends about 9.3% of state and federal expenditures on the military, versus about 5.9% in the U.K. But the U.K. has nationalized healthcare, and we do not. If the U.K. privatized their health system, their military expenditures as a percentage of their budget would go up; likewise our percentage would go down if we raised taxes to U.K. levels to fund a nationalized health system. But the appropriate size of each country's military doesn't change depending on whether healthcare is privatized or not. It's an entirely orthogonal issue.