> I wonder if anyone did a cost analysis of how much the atomic bomb cost before launching into its development. Or a Polaris submarine that has never fired a missile in anger?
Evidently not, which probably accounts for a large part of the US national debt and the waste and corruption in your arms establishment.
> So, NZ has an annual budget 7 times that of Chicago’s. You are comparing apples to oranges.
Possibly, in that more money is extracted from the ever-suffering NZ taxpayers than is extracted from their Chicago counterparts (”budgets” don’t grow on trees, as you will be aware. They all come out of somebody’s pocket)
When you look at the numbers you’ve produced it is truly remarkable that NZ can afford our military AND enjoy an excellent socialized medical scheme AND provide half of the South Pacific with our foreign aid and defense AND end up with budget surpluses to tide us thru difficult times like our current economic crisis.
Yes, we are vulnerable to foreign invasion: Indonesia is certainly splitting at the seams and in need of more room and resources. Even if we spent 100% of our GDP on defense that geopolitical fact could never change. There are only a finite number of parameters we can affect in any meaningful way. So our Nation spends as wisely as it can and contributes where it can make the best impact.
That still leaves a population the size of Chicago to run a complex country in the middle of the South Pacific with negligible natural resources to fund everything with. Whether you think it is fair or not, that is the reality we have.
Our arms establishment and weapons systems helped bring down the Soviet Union and liberated Eastern Europe. Many of those nations are now part of NATO. The fact that we defeated Communism and have liberated Iraq and Afghnistan was a cheap price to pay.
Possibly, in that more money is extracted from the ever-suffering NZ taxpayers than is extracted from their Chicago counterparts (”budgets” don’t grow on trees, as you will be aware. They all come out of somebody’s pocket)
You still don't get it. Chicago is a city, NZ is a nation. The residents of Chicago pay Illinois state taxes and federal taxes so your assumption is wrong when you try to compare both by comparing budgets.
When you look at the numbers you’ve produced it is truly remarkable that NZ can afford our military AND enjoy an excellent socialized medical scheme AND provide half of the South Pacific with our foreign aid and defense AND end up with budget surpluses to tide us thru difficult times like our current economic crisis.
LOL. And you only pay 1% of your GDP on defense and have a 9,000 person active duty military. You are the mouse that roared. Just pray that in the future the Chinese or some other malevolent power doesn't have designs on taking over your Shangria-La. Then who are you going to call upon to help you? Did you appreciate the US during WWII?
Yes, we are vulnerable to foreign invasion: Indonesia is certainly splitting at the seams and in need of more room and resources. Even if we spent 100% of our GDP on defense that geopolitical fact could never change. There are only a finite number of parameters we can affect in any meaningful way. So our Nation spends as wisely as it can and contributes where it can make the best impact.
The best way to do that is to coordinate the design and focus of your military with your allies so you can make your expenditures more effective.