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Shouldn't we examine military spending as a percentage of GDP? The author only shows absolute numbers, which I think is misleading.

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Exactly my thought. What percentage of GDP is taken by entitlement programs, also "new" ideas in the last century, such as medicare, social security, etc. etc. etc.

Interesting charts on these very points at http://perotcharts.com/ (Yes, that Ross Perot).

Someone made a nice graph, which was posted here not so long ago. Military spending added up to about 60% of GDP, spread over several departments.

Taxes aren't 60% of GDP, so it's very unlikely that military spending is 60% of GDP.

Miltary spending might be 60% of discretionary spending, but discretionary spending is a small fraction of govt spending.

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