Posted on 04/23/2014 6:26:00 AM PDT by SkyPilot
Global military spending dropped by nearly two percent in 2013, led by the United States which dropped it’s spending by 7.8 percent.
By contrast, the military industrial complexes in Russia and China are bustling; seeing a 4.8 and 7.4 percent increase, respectively.
The U.S. dropped spending from roughly $690 Billion in 2012, to $640 Billion in 2013, shrinking to 3.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.
The reduction is noted in real terms, which means the calculations – made by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute – are adjusted for inflation.
Global military expenditure fell by 1.9 percent, to $1747 billion. It was the second consecutive year spending fell, and 2013 saw the higher rate of decrease, by 0.4 percent compared to 2012.
“A part of the fall ($20 billion of the $44 billion nominal fall) can be attributed to the reduction in outlays for Overseas Contingency Operations — that is, overseas military operations, chiefly in Afghanistan and Iraq,” the SIPRI report reads.
For the first time since 2003, Russia spent a larger percentage of it’s Gross Domestic Product on military expenses than the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
The percentage of GDP spent on out military is already at a historic low for modern times. It will fall even more rapidly, to 2.8% of GDP by 2016. While there was a very small relief to some sequestration cuts in 2014, the cuts are still continuing. The US military is now less than 15% of the Federal budget (another historic low for modern times), yet it is forced to "pay for" almost 50% of all Sequestration cuts. These $600 Billion in cuts come on top of $487 Billion in ten year cuts that began in 2012.
Moreover, a dollar to dollar comparison of our spending with China or Russia is not a direct comparison of military capability. The Russians just supplied their front line troops with new body armor - and it is amazing stuff. They don't have the union wages, environmental regulations, plant safety, minority preferred contract set aside costs, legal hurdles, subcontractor by Congressional district set asides, and the rest that we contend with. The same body armor for our troops costs us 4 times as much. The Chinese can buy a tank or a pair of boots for a fraction of what we spend. When hot lead starts flying, we will find that the lethality of their bullets is as lethal as ours are.
The truth is, China and Russia are gearing up for WW III, and we are throwing our money down a toilet bowl of Food Stamps, ObamaCare subsides, Social Security "Crazy Checks" for children who are coached to exhibit behavioral problems, and the rest.
Ping, so you can slavishly shriek at us that this is a good thing.
“You may not be interested in war but war is interested in you.” - Leon Trotsky
We still spend greater than 3X what the second place Chinese spend.
Thanks SkyPilot.
Here’s some future firing squad stuff:
Preparing the US military for the ‘threat multiplier’ of climate change
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3147366/posts
Anyone who claims to be serious about cutting government spending but does not see the Pentagon gravy train as ripe for reform is not truly serious.
They cut in the wrong places.
Every time.
Right now we are going thru a rationalization stage justifying why it is necessary to cut defense spending. We have changed the parameters to justify lower spending. It used to be the two and one-half wars strategy to now one war. We are trying to develop a mission plan that fits into the budget we want rather than using a threat assessment of the dangers posed to us by our present and future adversaries.
Two thirds of our budget is on automatic pilot. The entitlement programs and other mandatories will consume the entire federal budget if reforms aren't made. The costs will still go up with an aging society where 10,000 baby boomers a day retire every day for the next 20 years.
No doubt defense spending should be on the table for any reductions, but I suspect that the pressure to cut defense will be greater than entitlements. The politicians will see to that.
That’s a very general statement.
What do you propose to cut?
The Dod has been cut three times in recent years. All these cuts were supposed to be over 10 years, but have now overlapped one another:
1. $330 Billion in 2009 to help funnel money for Obama's "Stimulus"
2. $487 Billion in 2012
3. $600 Billion in 2013 with Sequestration
Meanwhile, Food Stamps, SS Disability, TANF, ObamaPhones, and over 80 give away welfare programs are have grown by massive proportions. Moreover, the Big 3 (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) were exempt from Sequestration (except for a very small cut to Medicare reimbursements to doctors that was restored last year). Meanwhile, the Sequestration cuts and other 10 year programmed cuts to the military continue for the next 5 to 10 years.
There are certain core functions that our Federal government is supposed to do, national defense is one of the those. It is Constitutional.
Handing out EBT cards and Social Security "Crazy Checks" is not.
There is waste and duplication in any institution, and the Dept of Defense is no exception. However, after years and years of deep and real cuts, the DoD is now beyond these "trims" and is cutting muscle and bone. Last year, Sequestration grounded 11 Air Force combat squadrons. Only 2 Army Brigades were decleard combat ready. Thousands of DoD nurses, doctors, and medical professionals quit in disgust after being furloughed and losing 20% of their pay. Maintenance on Navy ships and equipment has been slashed.
For years now, responsible and sober analysts have been waving the red flag regarding these deep military cuts. But because of the political fear of cutting entitlements, they have been ignored as Kabar pointed out.
CARAFANO: Putting national security at risk - Deep cuts encourage our foes to test our defenses
Even if we zeroed out Defense spending, we are still doomed because of Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare, and Social Security spending.
If and when real war comes, it will be "come as you are." The American people may have a very real, and frightening, wake up call.
As to the validity of a dollar-for-dollar spending comparison vis a vis China and Russia, see post #1.
No one need work hard to come up with rationalizations or justifications. The Pentagon has far more money than it knows what to do with or can keep track of.
Just a few examples of countless others:
The Pentagon Is Wasting Billions Of Dollars Because It Can't Audit Its Own Contracts
Pentagon Overpaid Billionaire Oilman By Up to $200 Million, Audit Finds
Special Report: The Pentagon's doctored ledgers conceal epic waste
Pentagon Unable to Account for Missing Iraqi Millions
It used to be the two and one-half wars strategy to now one war. We are trying to develop a mission plan that fits into the budget we want rather than using a threat assessment of the dangers posed to us by our present and future adversaries.
The scheme to budget/spend enough to support two wars simultaneously was developed decades ago & is severely outdated. Combat is much different now than it was then.
In addition, we're long past being able to afford our military adventures around the world. We borrow money to dump billions into places like Iraq & Afghanistan & leave it to our kids & grandkids to pay the bills. It's been this way for a long time, across multiple administrations.
The percentage increase in U.S. defense spending during that period is still higher than every one of our allies except South Korea and Australia. France, Great Britain, Japan, Italy all cut their defense spending over that period. Maybe the push should be for these countries to step up and fund their own defense and stop relying on the U.S. to do it for them?
“The scheme to budget/spend enough to support two wars simultaneously was developed decades ago & is severely outdated.”
It is not outdated at all. Suppose NKorea attacks SKorea and China attempts to invade Taiwan? Not to mention a miscalculation on Russia’s part by invading a NATO Baltic country. Peace comes through strength and it is the first responsibility of a government to its people.
You mentioned Afghanistan. Do you really think that was an adventure and was not a correct response after AQ hit the US and killed 3,000 Americans?
Lots of people ask why America is not in Bible prophesy in these Last Days. My personal opinion is that America as we are today will not exist when the Antichrist comes on the scene. I think America is going to fall and fall hard. It will exist in some form. Maybe as part of the EU or something. But, America as a powerful, meaningful nation will not exist. Economic failure, or maybe even a military failure. America right now is going back to the the 1920-1940 roles. Anti-military, isolationism, saying that foreign affairs are theirs and we have no business getting into those things. Why people think those things do not matter to us, they lose sight of the big picture. We are going to be affected by what happens. We sit on our hands and allow Putin to rebuild the old Soviet Union by taking over nations of the world. How is that not going to affect us? It will, but we are now suffering the Public Schools education of our children and grandchildren. They have been indoctrinated into believing we just need to sit on our hands and allow the world to go its own way. This is Obama’s plan. To destroy us as a player on the world scene. Even if he is not trying, he is succeeding in failure on this scale. America is done. We will never recover this damage to us. We simply are so in debt that there is no way to get out of it and if Hillary is president, we are further damaged. A RINO in the White House is no help. There are no Ronald Reagan’s to save us from Obama as he did with Carter.
As a part of that reference:
America bought 440 billion dollars worth of imports from China last year.
China bought 122 billion dollars worth of imports from America last year.
Bring back American jobs.
Stop importing everything.
We could start with the easy - get out of Afghanistan, where U.S. taxpayers have spent an average of $10 million PER HOUR since 2001 (at a total price tag of $700 BILLION & counting).
The Liberals and the Left always point to the dollar-to-dollar charts of US spending vs. other nations as well, to justify our cuts. If we rely on that comparison, we are fooling ourselves. The Chinese and Russians can produce just as good (or even better) military capability for less cost. They don't have our environmental regulations, union wages, minority contract costs, legal system fees, and the rest to contend with.
In the raw number of troops, ships, and aircraft, our military looks good on paper, until you realize how many of those troops, ships, and aircraft are actual combat ready.
The problem was not with the initial invasion & occupation. We accomplished our goal years ago & are now bogged down in a quagmire of nation-building that has lasted longer than the Civil War, WWI & WWII combined.
It's long past time to get out (but a lot of people are getting rich off the continuing occupation).
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