WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS MILITARY EXPENDITURES

A SHORT HISTORY OF MILITARY SPENDING (cont.)


France suffered a huge financial strain, and enormous budget deficits during the 1950s, caused in large part by its military efforts in what would become its former colonies in Indochina and Africa.  In fact, it is reported that during the years 1954 to 1960, twenty eight percent of its national budget was expended upon warfare against guerillas in its African territories.  And by 1954, the U.S. had itself spend close to a billion dollars to aid the French in their efforts to resist the communist insurgency taking place in Vietnam.

By 1954 as well, single projects began to be undertaken at vast public expense.  For example, a mammoth aircraft carrier, the "Forrestal," was launched by the U.S. Navy, at a cost to our citizens of almost Two Hundred Million Dollars (over a Billion and a half, in 2011 Dollars).  The U.S. government thus began to regularly award multi-billion dollar defense contracts to companies such as Lockheed.  Moreover, by 1959, we were budgeting over Five Billion Dollars (almost Thirty nine Billion Dollars in 2011 funds) for missile development.

President Eisenhower began to express concern over the apparent dominance of what he termed the "military-industrial complex."  Composed of our Defense Department ands a number of leading defense contractors, it was feared that too much power was accumulating in the hands of a few, to the resultant detriment to other programs, and the welfare of our people as well.

As time marched forward, new increases in spending continued on as well.  Russia escalated its defense budget to greater heights, so as to possess and exhibit new and improved jet fighters and giant bombers.  President Kennedy's response on behalf of the United States included an increase in our military budget by almost $3.5 Billion Dollars (over $26 Billion in 2011 figures).  As a result of this, our national debt in 1962 exceeded $300 Billion (almost Seven and a half Trillion if it were 2011) for the first time.

By the mid nineteen sixties, this country's involvement in Vietnam became direct and vastly expanded.  By 1966, said participation was costing us Two Billion Dollars per month (over $14 Billion--I continue to express all sums in 2011 Dollars, using the increase in the Cost Of Living Index as a multiplier, in the parentheses following).  And by the time we left, we had expended a total sum of over Three Hundred Billion (One and a quarter Trillion) Dollasrs.  Yet, these years are described as an age of extreme arrogance.  While carrying on a financially devastating and militarily frustrating war in Vietnam, our adminstration spoke about "guns and butter," and turned, it is said, to "tricky bookkeeping"--including the borrowing of over Twenty Billion (almost $140 Billion) Dollars a year--as a means of justification, in its pursuit of popular support.  The net result developed into a massive deficit and consequent "crushing inflation." 

 During the mid to late sixties, Russia came under the Brezhnev regime; which adopted additional steps to achieve equality with the United States as regards its strategic arms and naval resources.  America's President Johnson responded in a similar manner; and the ongoing arms race simply flared up more brightly. 

During this decade, the U.S. additionally recognized a need to commit itself to a Five Billion ($32 Billion) Dollar program for the establishment of an anti-ballistic missile defense system composed of Nike and Spartan missiles.  We appeared to be operating under a delusion that we possessed a bottomless pit filled with wealth and treasure, as President Johnson presented Congress, in 1968, with a record annual budget of $168 Billion (a little over a Trillion).

By 1970, the arms race was costing the participants nore than Two Hundred Billion (almost a Trillion and a quarter) Dollars per year--$80 Billion ($463 Billion) of which was being expended by the United States.  It entailed the employment of many millions in the military; and more than twice as many in auxiliary occupations, such as the manufacture of arms and armaments.  It comprised almost half of America's federal budget.  At the same time, an even higher percentage of the Soviet Union's economy was being thus consumed.  In fact, during these years, only one fourth of the Soviets' economic output was devoted to consumer goods; the rest consisted of production of weapons and other military equipment.  In many other nations as well, extravagent military spending drained national economies, and resulted in neglect of other, more socially beneficial, and frequently clearly necessary, public programs. 

 Not long thereafter, in 1972, our next President, Richard Nixon, proposed an even more reckless budget for the United States, featuring a deficit of over 25 Billion (134 Billion) Dollars--the largest ever.  This too was in large part attribulable to military spending.

Thus, from being in possession of one of the world's strongest economies in 1964, we had travelled, within a single decade, into very serious debt.  Among the vehicles that got us there were the Vietnam conflict, and our reckless spending upon various other military and defense programs during these years.  Both Russia and the United States continued their binge of buying and building weapons, and were thus caught in the inescapable, ever-rising, spiral that constitutes an arms race.  Much of the rest of the world more or less followed suit; and by 1980, our planet's military expenditures increased to more than  a Half Trillion ($1.3 Trillion) Dollars.

President Reagsan sought to increase America's military budget by an additional 32 Billion ($79 Billion) Dollars in 1981.  And the Star Wars program proposed by him in 1983 would require still more phenomenal increases in spending.  This brought some critics to predict that our deficit could thereby one day reach the trillion dollar mark (n.b., as of today [September 17, 2012], it was $674 Billion more than a Trillion Dollars).