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But the headline compares it to defense, which also tends to grow with GDP. So it's a substantive fact that debt service is more than defense spending.
by jessriedel 2y ago
But the headline compares it to defense, which also tends to grow with GDP. So it's a substantive fact that debt service is more than defense spending.
- Retric 2y agoIt’s really not a consistent fraction of GDP, and it’s near a record low right now. Defense spending was officially 2.7% of GDP in 1999 and that’s roughly where it is today, but that’s really low by historic standards. It was 4.9% GDP in 2009 in the middle of a war but sat at 8% through the fifties even after the Korean War ended, and hit 11.3% during it. https://www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Photos/igphoto/2002099941/ https://www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Photos/igphoto/2002099941... PS: Though this ignores Veterans Affairs spending, but arguably that should be included when people served rather than just when they received care.
- jessriedel 2y agoHolding the country fixed, I think defense spending as a fraction of GDP probably varies less than debt over time? Like, defense spending of course spikes during wars, but so does debt! (Which is indeed how it is often funded.)
- Retric 2y agoIt’s more about politics than your assuming. Defense spending was almost twice has high in 1958 despite no war going on as it was during the Iraq and Afghan war.
- jessriedel 2y agoI'm not assuming anything about the cause