At nearly three-quarters of a trillion, the DoD budget is difficult to ignore. It had bipartisan support. It has not made us any safer.
It's not fingerpointing. It's simply a perfect example of a system and priorities gone sideways. It's a 700 billion gorilla that continues to bloat because saying otherwise is considered to be unAmerican, etc.
The narrative of not talking openly about the DOD budget needs to change.
Chalmers Johnson and Robert Higgs were making the case as long ago as 2006 that the actual US defence budget was obfuscated and was over a trillion dollars.
They argue that if you add the budgets of the Department of Energy (nuclear research), the Department of Homeland Security, the defence-related programs of the the Department of State and international assistance programs (e.g. Israel, Egypt?), the Department of Veterans Affairs, NASA, the Department of the Treasury's military retirement costs (Military Retirement Fund) you can add 50% to the nominal defence budget.
It's not fingerpointing. It's simply a perfect example of a system and priorities gone sideways. It's a 700 billion gorilla that continues to bloat because saying otherwise is considered to be unAmerican, etc.
The narrative of not talking openly about the DOD budget needs to change.