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• CONVENTION

Talking Points - Cost of War / Military Spending

Download PDF of Talking Points

• In 2008 the world spent $1.473 trillion on military spending. U.S. spending was 48% of that number or $711 billion. The U.S. nearly spends more money on its military than all other countries in the world combined.  source
• Global military expenditure and arms trade forms the largest spending category in the world. source
• Summarizing some key details from Chapter 8 of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)'s 2007 Year Book on Armaments, Disarmament and International Security for 2005:

World military expenditure in 2006 is estimated to have reached $1204 billion in current dollars.

This represents a 3.5% increase in real terms since 2005 and a 37% increase over the 10-year period since 1997.

The USA, responsible for about 80 per cent of the increase in 2005, is the principal determinant of the current world trend, and its military expenditure now accounts for almost half of the world total.

• SIPRI also comments on the increasing concentration of military expenditure, i.e. that a small number of countries spend the largest sums:

The 15 countries with the highest spending account for 83 per cent of the total;

The USA is distantly followed by the UK, France, Japan and China with 4-5%  each. source

• There is a large gap between what countries are prepared to allocate for military means to provide security and maintain their global and regional power status, on the one hand, and to alleviate poverty and promote economic development, on the other. High-income countries account for about 75% of world military spending but only 16% of world population. The combined military spending of these countries was slightly higher than the aggregate foreign debt of all low-income countries and 10 times higher than their combined levels of official development assistance in 2001. source
• The U.S relies far too much on military solutions rather than economic and diplomatic solutions. The lack of funding for the United Nations is a prime example.

The United Nations and all its agencies and funds spend about $20 billion each year or about $3 for each of the world's inhabitants.

The UN's entire budget is just a tiny fraction of the world's military expenditure, approximately 2%

While the UN is not perfect and has many internal issues that need addressing, it is revealing that the world can spend so much on their military but contribute so little to the goals of global security, international cooperation and peace.

As of November 30, 2007, members' arrears to the Regular Budget topped $735 million, of which the United States alone owed $688 million (94% of the regular budget arrears). source

• U.S total military spending since 2001has increased from $333 Billion to $706 Billion. source
• It is far from clear whether or not the increase in military spending has made the U.S. safer. Domestic counter-terrorism measures have probably made the most difference. The War on Terror has created a new generation of enemies.
• The following chart shows the breakdown of the proposed federal discretionary budget for fiscal year 2009 by function area.

• The discretionary budget refers to the part of the federal budget proposed by the President, and debated and decided by Congress each year. This part of the budget constitutes more than one-third of total federal spending. The remainder of the federal budget is called 'mandatory spending.' Fiscal Year 2009 will run from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.

• The median-income family in the United States paid $3,736 in federal income taxes in 2006. Here is how that amount was spent:

source

• Alternative Public Spending: Effects on Job Creation - A new study by economists at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst evaluates the relative effects on job creation from investing an equivalent amount of federal money in 1)private consumption (through tax cuts),  2) the military and 3) several alternative civilian public programs. source