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> It's not going to give up its position as a world leader overnight. It is not going to give up in the future, too. Your points would be valid if the US milit
by cute_boi 4y ago
> It's not going to give up its position as a world leader overnight.
It is not going to give up in the future, too. Your points would be valid if the US military budget were reduced yearly.
> Ironically some of the greatest innovations of the century have come from military spending. The internet, nuclear power, GPS...
Not that much if we compare it to the output that we got from investing in another way. Also, in the example, many militaries introduced the technology and most of the innovations are done by other companies.
- briga 4y agoDefense spending in the US as a percentage of total GDP HAS gone down fairly steadily. The US pulled out of Afghanistan after accomplishing a couple decades of approximately nothing. And it’s hardly the first time America’s military efforts come to naught. There seems to be very little appetite for more. Rival leaders see this as an opportunity.
- epups 4y agoThat's only true if you are talking about Vietnam/Cold War era. In the past 20 years or so, defense spending as a percentage of US GPD has actually increased: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/military-spending-defense-budget https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/mili...
- briga 4y agoAre we looking at the same data? The chart you posted shows a clear downward trend since Vietnam
- xboxnolifes 4y agoTheir point is that spending is up compared to 20 years ago. Yes, spending is lower than 60 years ago, but that decline plateaued 20 years ago. Since then, it's been on the rise.
- cute_boi 4y agoNo, it hasn't gone done steadily. It has been going up steadily if I look at the data. I am currently seeing data from 2015.