Friday, April 19, 2013

President Obama: The Defense Hawk

Has President Obama slashed national defense?
"He wants to dismantle the military just like Western Europe did theirs." - Rush Limbaugh
I see this commonly with right wing zealots believing defense has already been slashed or is about to be slashed more than any period in our nation's history. Well, in Obama's first term as president he has spent more in the billions of dollars on defense than any president in history. Even more than Bush in the post 9/11 era. As of this writing, defense spending has has gone down since its highest peak in 2010. Its still high. For defense spending as a percentage of GDP, see the chart below.

To see where we compare to the rest of the world on defense spending, visit the World Bank website.

What we should be spending on when it comes to defense and how much we should spend is a separate issue to debate. Saying President Obama hasn't set a record when it comes to defense spending is a complete disconnect from the actual facts. For the 2014, President Obama has recently requested $640.5 billion in defense spending.


Medicare and Other Entitlements Are Crowding Out Spending on Defense
Image by the Heritage Foundation

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