There’s a lot of talk about the defense budget and upcoming sequester cuts right now. The Republicans want to cancel the defense half of the cuts entirely and make up for them by doubling the non-defense half.
Defense currently makes up about 20% of the federal budget. It was about 15% before we spent the last decade blowing up the middle east.
So my question is this: When can we cut defense spending? Ever? We raised it by 84% (!) over the past decade to fight two wars, but now that were almost done with those why can’t it go back down? If we keep it flat, then next time we fight a war it goes up again, and we get a ratcheting effect where it increases but never drops and pretty soon that’s the whole budget.
It’s natural to ramp up defense spending to mobilize for wars. It used to be natural to ramp it down afterwards.
Also keep in mind that, despite all the crying from the usual suspects, the pentagon will be just fine. Even with the full sequester, defense spending in 2013 will be higher in real terms than in 2006, the height of the war in Iraq.
Also, too, note that the Republicans will tell you government spending can’t create jobs. Until that government spending is on aircraft carriers, at which point their inner Keynesians come out, and we hear that even tiny cuts will lead to laying off half the defense industry, somehow.
Some sanity on this subject is sorely needed.
520 Chestnut 
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