Saturday, February 13, 2010
Defense Spending
After reading Wildavsky's chapter on defense it becomes clear that budgeting for defense is a separate entity that takes on a life of its own. I feel that national defense is the most important thing the federal government does and I have no problem spending money on this. I was shocked when I looked at Table 8.1 on page 155. In 1953 defense accounted for 69% of the budget. It has since dropped to about 17%. When adjusted for inflation there is only about a $50 billion difference. These numbers are really an eye opener for me. We are spending about the same on defense as we were fifty years ago but it accounts for so much less of the budget. I find myself wondering if the intricate and drawn out process Wildavsky discusses is necessary for something that seems to have a decreasing slice of the pie. Secondly, it seems interesting that the budget continually grows funding programs that did not exist fifty years ago. It seems that we have so much more that the federal government needs to pay for, but apparently not so much more to defend. On a final note it seems to me that spending on defense should be above the fray. Increases usually only take place after the need arises, such as 9/11. Honestly, who wants to be the guy arguing to cut spending on defense and then have things like that happen. Is there nothing sacred in politics?
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I agree that defense spending is probably the most important expenditure in the budget. As an employee of the DoD I see cuts to budgets everyday. Some cuts are necessary others I disagree with. War is very expensive and fighting two wars abroad is incredibly costly especially because we weren't prepared for what we were getting into. We have the best military in the world but in order to stay on top we must spend money to keep up with new threats. I agree with your post that we are not as proactive as we should be and are more reactive when something such as 9/11 occurs.
ReplyDeleteEvery year since I have joined the government I have seen a decrease in the budget. The part that makes me so angry is that defense spending becomes very political. When we should worry about the safety of troops and determining if they have the right equipment we have politicans in Washington dragging their heels when it comes to releasing money to get new body armour. I went to Capitol Hill and sat at a briefing over defense funding and the congressman/women calling the shots have no idea what its like to be out in the field. They see that the military is funded bllions of dollars but they don't see and or live the lives of the soldiers/sailors/airmen on the front lines.
I agree that we cannot spend out of control and perhaps shake ups have to occur but we can't keep slashing the defense budget everytime we think we have defeated an enemy. This is a new century with new threats and the money must be available to combat the problems and not further complicate matters.
An article I was reading about the budget is at the link below:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012904235.html
I don't think anyone would disagree that national security and the defense of our nation is one of the most important responsibilities of our government. And my primary concern while we are at war is the protection of our troops overseas.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do believe there is considerable waste within the Department of Defense in areas most citizens probably do not consider. For instance, I work for the Defense Information Systems Agency which is a DoD headquarters agency. In two years, I have been sent to about seven or eight “leadership development” trainings. Most training classes are contracted out to vendors and are expensive.
For example, I attended training in November in Arlington, VA. The cost of the four day class was $29,925. The class is offered approximately ten times per year and countless others are offered or required that focus on the same topic. It may not seem like a large amount of money considering the entire Defense budget, but when you add travel and lodging costs, it adds up quickly. It’s hard to justify this type of spending when we are at war and the economy is in recession. Yet, there is also a general tendency within my agency and I would guess other departments as well, to continue these programs because funding is available and if we don’t use it, we'll lose it.