Proposed Defense Cut

            According to an article from the LA Times, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently announced a budget proposal that would shrink Army troops to levels that have not been seen since before World War Two. In addition, the plan calls for almost $500 billion in cuts to the defense budget over the next ten years. When I first read this, I was quite alarmed! I have always viewed the U.S. as the most powerful nation in the world, and I feared that this would interfere with our capability to defend ourselves.

However, upon further research, I realized that the amount that we currently spend on the military is absurdly high. For example, in an article written by Glenn Greenwald, I discovered that the U.S. spends almost as much on military as all the other nations in the world combined. Below is a pie chart that illustrates this.

The U.S. also spends the six times more than the second greatest spender in the world, China. To me, this is absolutely ridiculous. I understand that we need to have a strong military to defend ourselves if conflict arises, but there is a balance, and the amount that we currently spend is just too much.

In my opinion, I think it is irresponsible for the government to spend this much on military. We are already in huge debt trouble, and I find it hard to believe that this budget is sustainable. In addition, we could be spending the money elsewhere, like healthcare or improving educational systems. We already are the most powerful nation in the world…but are we the most well educated? I think not.