Comments on: Just how much defense spending can be cut? http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2010/11/23/just-how-much-defense-spending-can-be-cut/ Politics and policy from inside Washington Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:23:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: CDN_finance http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2010/11/23/just-how-much-defense-spending-can-be-cut/comment-page-1/#comment-10161 CDN_finance Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:10:42 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/?p=5160#comment-10161 Seems like 1% of GDP (from your chart) is going to war spending... so that's $150B savings once the wars stop. Plus, pulling down troop numbers in Germany, Japan, South Korea are probably worth another $50B/yr. That's an easy $200B a year savings. Seems worth it and easy to me... Maybe cutting back on building new/more aircraft carriers and submarines would knock off another big chunk of change too. Also, I find it more than slightly disingenuous to compare current defense spending to Reagan-era defense spending, when the govt was actively and purposefully increasing military spending to intimidate Russia. I'd be curious to see how that chart looks going back to the 30s, through the depression, through post-Korea/pre-Vietnam decade, etc. Seems like 1% of GDP (from your chart) is going to war spending… so that’s $150B savings once the wars stop. Plus, pulling down troop numbers in Germany, Japan, South Korea are probably worth another $50B/yr. That’s an easy $200B a year savings. Seems worth it and easy to me… Maybe cutting back on building new/more aircraft carriers and submarines would knock off another big chunk of change too.

Also, I find it more than slightly disingenuous to compare current defense spending to Reagan-era defense spending, when the govt was actively and purposefully increasing military spending to intimidate Russia. I’d be curious to see how that chart looks going back to the 30s, through the depression, through post-Korea/pre-Vietnam decade, etc.

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