US Military Spending
We're spending way too much on our military - this needs to change.
Dear Next President,
The National Priorities Project website projected that in 2015, 54% of our country’s money would go into the military, or 598.5 billion dollars. This projected cost wasn’t far off, according to a GFP (Global Fire Power) table that states we spent $581 billion on the army last year. That is almost 4 times the amount that China spent ($155.6 billion according to the table) and they have the world’s largest military.
Also according to the National Priorities Project, the US accounts for 37% of world military spending - which totaled more than $1.6 trillion in 2015. Do the math: 37% of 1.6 trillion dollars is $592 billion. While it’s a slightly different number than what GFP got, it’s still not far off from NPP’s original estimate of 598.5 billion. They also say that is roughly the amount of the “next seven largest military budgets around the world, combined.” Let’s think about that for a moment. Not only are we spending almost 4 times the amount of China, that amount is equal to the next seven biggest military budgets.
Some people might argue that there are so many threats to our safety today - terrorists, other countries with strong militaries, and just other countries in general. And that’s certainly true. They do exist. However, the amount we’re spending is ridiculous and unnecessary. Like I previously mentioned, China has the world’s largest military, and they’re spending much, much less on it than we are. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no reason for this, especially when there’s other problems that could use our attention.
So, as a citizen of this country, I have to ask: Why not lessen the amount of money going to the military? It’s not like doing so is going to change the fact that the US is one of the world’s superpowers. Not to mention we’d also have more money for more important things, like feeding the homeless, raising the salaries of the working class, and generally just improving the conditions of the poor so they aren’t poor anymore. It’s time to take action, and you’re the only one who can make it.
Sincerely,
Jenna Polzin
Grade 10
Mendota Heights, MN