Hacker News Reader

Comment by rm_-rf_slash | Hacker News Reader

It's not that disproportionate. Most militaries are funded within 2%-6% of GDP. America's economy is just so enormous that the spending seems ridiculous. Yes, there is a lot of waste, a LOT OF WASTE, but it's a small price to pay to feel safe and secure from foreign militaries when one has the benefit of, as the economist put it: "friends to the north and south and fish to the east and west."

The thought that a war could ever occur on our own soil is simply something most Americans don't even contemplate, unless you've spent one too many evenings polishing your favorite firearms and rewatching "Red Dawn."

View on HN

Even as a percentage of GDP, US military spending is maybe 20th-highest in the world[0]. The countries spending more tend to be some combination of:

- at war, or civil war (ukraine, south sudan, iraq)

- with historical conflict with larger neighbours, and reaso to worry about it breaking out again (Pakistan, Israel)

- sitting on enough oil that GDP gets distorted anyway (saudi arabia, Azerbaijan

So yes, US military spending is way out of proportion to the rest of the world.

[0] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?year_h...

> Most militaries are funded within 2%-6% of GDP.

The global share of GDP spent on military (as of 2015) is 2.29%, and most countries are below that (the US having a huge GDP and spending significantly above that drags up the global share); the US's 3.3% is quite high.

It's also worth noting that the since American military provides such a large security blanket to global trade that most nations who would otherwise tough it out themselves to protect their merchant fleets don't have to, unless they are are in piracy hotspots like Somalia. Many non-American merchant ships often fly the Stars and Stripes illegally to deter those who are averse to pissing off the US Navy.

America does often not like it when countries other than itself goes to war because it makes it hard to sell American consumer goods there, unless those goods are the weapons of war themselves.

In what area of the world are you suggesting that commercial vessels false flag as American? Do you have any references? Because the goes completely against known behavior in major shipping areas. AKA it sounds like you just made that up.

Where did you take the 2%-6% from? World bank reports significantly lower numbers (<1.5% for most European countries for example and pretty much most of the world) and they line up to other reports as well. 3.3% of USA is well in the upper tenth of the world spending.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com