That is always a liberal argument, that we spend blah blah more as much as blah blah. Never fall for it.
First of all, we estimate what each nation spends on its military. They don't exactly publish it as we do.
Next, we hold a technological edge in many areas, and those are expensive, but they don't trump all. In the end, flying hot lead is just as deadly.
EXAMPLE: the US military buys a set of combat fatigues for $200 per pair. That cost includes R&D, liability insurance for the company, product safety, union wages, and a whole host of other costs that reflect doing business in America.
China's military pays $25 for a set of combat fatigues. Maybe not as good, or maybe better, but in the end, they outfit a soldier for much less than ours.
Each soldier deploying to Afghanistan has nearly $25,000 worth of gear going with him, but in the end, he can die just as easily from a single bullet as the Islamic fighter.
We also pay our military better, and give them better benefits. In my mind, they deserve them, and so do their families, especially when this nation is shelling out Trillion in giveaways to people who never lifted a finger for this nation.
China's military is mandatory, and they don't care so much about things like housing, pay, educational benefits, or health care for their people.
All I am saying to you is it is not a one-to-one comparison. Look at the number of ships, troops, and aircraft of military's side by side. That tells you a lot more than dollars vs. their currency converted to dollars of what we estimate they produce, procure, spend, and field.
I agree with you. Also, the militaries of Russia and China are building where we are mothballing.
Yes - I said essentially the same thing. One needs to compare military capabilities then calculate dollars and finally percentages. A comparison of countries spending in percentage terms is not that meaningful
We may hold a technological edge in many areas but a cheap RPG can still do a lot of damage. I always wondered why we never developed a similar weapon.
Right on. These money comparisons are useless. It is capability that counts and we are reducing ours while they are increasing theirs.
That is what is left out. The amount spent by China, etc. buys much more i am sure.