How the United States Lost the Naval War of 2015

Re:How the United States Lost the Naval War of 2015 by ynniv on Friday December 18, 2009 @11:12AM (#1003328)

And Iraq has chemical weapons, and Iran is a dangerous nuclear power, blah blah blah... Isn't $500 billion a year (50% of the federal budget!) enough for you people?

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Re:How the United States Lost the Naval War of 2015 by markpneyer on Friday December 18, 2009 @11:28AM (#1003374)

The federal budget is significantly more than 1 Trillion USD

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Re:How the United States Lost the Naval War of 2015 by ynniv on Friday December 18, 2009 @12:15PM (#1003467)

Yeah, the numbers change year to year, and the most recent numbers are even greater. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budg...], I tally ~ $743 billion in defense and veterans affairs. Add a large percentage of the $220 billion in interest payments. The important question percentage-wise is whether you include Social Security.

Anyway, the fraction of the budget is really besides the point. We spend an inordinate amount of money on the military, and there is no viable threats to defend against. China is the best pick because they spend the second most money ($85 billion), but can we legitimately think that we'll go to physical war with such a huge trade partner?

Our military is funded by campfire stories and yellow press.

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Re:How the United States Lost the Naval War of 2015 by shpxnvz on Friday December 18, 2009 @11:54AM (#1003418)

More like 27% of the 2008 federal budget.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget

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Re:How the United States Lost the Naval War of 2015 by ahi on Friday December 18, 2009 @12:14PM (#1003463)

That number doesn't include wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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