Not a very interesting graphic with obvious deficiencies (e.g. not comparing defense spending to GDP). Why do we spend money on Defense? The first answer would

Not a very interesting graphic with obvious deficiencies (e.g. not comparing defense spending to GDP). Why do we spend money on Defense? The first answer would be to protect stuff we have (hence my compare against GDP example above) but that would be incomplete. The real value is in protecting the system that generates that value. Think of it in terms of a company. A companies value is in the system for generating additional value and is the reason why companies are bought or traded at multiples of their current earnings. Sometime extreme multiples for fast growth, high potential companies. If you look at the US as a value producing entity (which most folks do and still do contrary to most news articles on US brain drain) we probably trade at a pretty high multiple of our current GDP. Comparing are Defense spending in that light will make our spending seem like a pretty good deal. That said, we clearly have reform and efficiencies to pursue in the defense sector.