The U.S. Defense Budget Should Be Smarter, Not Bigger
The size of the military budget matters less than how the money is spent.
Focus on the most pressing challenges.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
In his first budget request, President Joe Biden has called for $715 billion in Pentagon spending. That’s a cut in real terms, which stands out in a budget which expands most categories of public spending substantially. The threats to national security that defense spending is intended to address aren’t noticeably diminishing — arguably, the reverse. The administration’s sense of priorities is being criticized and it deserves, at least, to be examined.
In fact, the proposed cut is modest — in constant dollars, it amounts to just 0.4% from the previous year. And that comes after a series of hefty increases. Between 2015 and 2020, U.S. military spending increased by 15% in real terms. Bear in mind, as well, that the U.S. still spends three times more on its military than does China, 10 times more than Russia — and $200 billion more each year, in real terms, than during the Cold War.