4 ms·

The whole military-industrial complex (defense industry) has about the same yearly revenues as Google. As others have already said, we Europeans do have centra

The whole military-industrial complex (defense industry) has about the same yearly revenues as Google. As others have already said, we Europeans do have central governments and there's fewer of us.

lazide 2y ago
Direct military expenditures in the US amount to roughly $900billion to 1.2 trillion dollars/yr. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_Unite...] Depending on how you slice things, and what you count as ‘military’. Based on the GOA, approx. $500 billion/yr (including veterans benefits) goes into actually running the military [https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59475 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59475]. Much of that appears to be VA benefits, and it’s increasing. So the remainder (minus war bonds!) feels like the Military Industrial Complex, which seems to add up to around $500bln/yr. Google annual revenue appears to be up to approx. $282 billion/year now. So unlikely any MIC component is close, but overall the MIC still seems quite a bit larger.
- samastur 2y ago
  Alphabet's revenue last year were about $340 billiion. 550 billion is just for compensation. You also need to pay for the upkeep of bases, fuel etc. MI complex probably still has larger revenues as Google, but difference is much smaller than you think and that is comparing the whole industry to just one tech giant. There are others with revenues as big or bigger.
  - lazide 2y ago
    Who provides the upkeep of bases, fuel, runs the contractors who run the equipment, provides the equipment itself, etc? The MIC. It isn’t just artillery shells. In general though, I agree. The tech industry is an absurdly valuable target. And thanks for the updated revenue numbers!
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

4 ms·

The whole military-industrial complex (defense industry) has about the same yearly revenues as Google. As others have already said, we Europeans do have centra

by samastur 2y ago

The whole military-industrial complex (defense industry) has about the same yearly revenues as Google. As others have already said, we Europeans do have central governments and there's fewer of us.

lazide 2y ago
Direct military expenditures in the US amount to roughly $900billion to 1.2 trillion dollars/yr. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_Unite...] Depending on how you slice things, and what you count as ‘military’. Based on the GOA, approx. $500 billion/yr (including veterans benefits) goes into actually running the military [https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59475 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59475]. Much of that appears to be VA benefits, and it’s increasing. So the remainder (minus war bonds!) feels like the Military Industrial Complex, which seems to add up to around $500bln/yr. Google annual revenue appears to be up to approx. $282 billion/year now. So unlikely any MIC component is close, but overall the MIC still seems quite a bit larger.
- samastur 2y ago
  Alphabet's revenue last year were about $340 billiion. 550 billion is just for compensation. You also need to pay for the upkeep of bases, fuel etc. MI complex probably still has larger revenues as Google, but difference is much smaller than you think and that is comparing the whole industry to just one tech giant. There are others with revenues as big or bigger.
  - lazide 2y ago
    Who provides the upkeep of bases, fuel, runs the contractors who run the equipment, provides the equipment itself, etc? The MIC. It isn’t just artillery shells. In general though, I agree. The tech industry is an absurdly valuable target. And thanks for the updated revenue numbers!
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]