Military Issues: Defense Spending

Defense Spending

Defense spending is the amount of money that a country spends on the military. This includes the people in the military, their pension plans, military intelligence, equipment and research on weapons. This is an ever changing amount, and is decided by what is happening in the world. If there is a war going on then military spending will rise sharply, in 1944 the amount spent was forty three percent of the country’s GDP. During the Korean War spending was 15 percent of the nations GDP, a high point in the post World War era. The low point was in 2000 when spending was 3.7 percent of the GDP. Military spending also rose a large amount in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks and then dropped in 2012 when involvement in the Middle East began to decline. The amount spent is expected to continue to decline as energy spent on the Middle East is reduced, and with President Obama’s proposed plan to cut defense spending to 2.4 percent of the country's GDP by 2023 (Walker).

There is no doubt that defense spending is a critical issue because it deals with the security of the country and a large number of jobs. A lower percentage of a country's GDP spent on defense means less equipment, personnel, intelligence and overall development in all areas of the military. In the uncertain times we live in, terrorist groups in the Middle East and now, the addition of unrest on the normally stable European continent, the strength of the United States military affects all Americans and people around the world.

In making this decision there are many things to consider. Those who do not support defense cuts say it will take away security, destroy jobs and slow down research projects that will advance everyday life. One argument comes from “Defe...

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