--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Not to mention that in the US 48% of the yearly Federal > budget goes to paying for America's current wars, pre- > paring for the next ones, or paying off the debts from > the last ones. This is true of no other country on the > planet. The other countries actually have some of their > tax revenue to use on services for their citizens.
A broader and perhaps more relevant view is defense spending as a % of the total economy. As seen from the table, this has been declining substantially over the past 60 yrs. From 37% during WWI, to 15% during the 50s / cold war, 9% at the height of Vietnam, 6% during the Reagan buildup, 3% by the end of the Clinton Admin, and now up to 3.7%under Bush. Table 1: US military spending as a percentage of GDP, 1940--2003 Fiscal Year Military spending as percent of GDP 1940 1.7 1941 5.6 1942 17.8 1943 37.0 1944 37.8 1945 37.5 1946 19.2 1947 5.5 1948 3.5 1949 4.8 1950 5.0 1951 7.4 1952 13.2 1953 14.2 1954 13.1 1955 10.8 1956 10.0 1957 10.1 1958 10.2 1959 10.0 1960 9.3 1961 9.4 1962 9.2 1963 8.9 1964 8.5 1965 7.4 1966 7.7 1967 8.8 1968 9.4 1969 8.7 1970 8.1 1971 7.3 1972 6.7 1973 5.8 1974 5.5 1975 5.5 1976 5.2 1977 4.9 1978 4.7 1979 4.6 1980 4.9 1981 5.1 1982 5.7 1983 6.1 1984 5.9 1985 6.1 1986 6.2 1987 6.1 1988 5.8 1989 5.6 1990 5.2 1991 4.6 1992 4.8 1993 4.4 1994 4.0 1995 3.7 1996 3.5 1997 3.3 1998 3.1 1999 3.0 2000 3.0 2001 3.0 2002 3.4 2003 3.7 To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
