Defense Spending Research Paper

The national debt and federal funding have been a hot topic for years now. Many believe that just like in the average American’s pocket book, reducing spending leads to decreasing debt, which will produce a positive outcome for America. The effect of this thinking has led many to support the government’s decrease of federal spending on big ticket items, in particular, the Department of Defense. One of the most common arguments revolve around the fact that the United States spends more money on the defense budget that a half dozen countries combined (U.S. Defense Spending Compared to Other Countries). The stakeholders in the argument essentially would be the American people. Decreasing the national debt would have a positive effect on the taxpayers and the state of the country as a whole while national debt decreases. Those who challenge this line of thinking believe that decreasing spending on the Department of Defense will adversely affect many institutions and overall national defense readiness. Articles such as “Why Israel has the most technologically advanced military on Earth” (Katz) argue that America currently is lacking in the fiscal responsibility of the Defense Department when compared to other nations. As in the previous argument, the …show more content…
This proposal would consist of the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Even though technology of the early eighties made this a near impossible feat, this idea would be a common ground for following presidents. Both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama have proposed the placement of anti-missile units in foreign countries for the protection from attack. This argument plays to the core principal that budgeting defense spending should not hinder the safety of America and its people. (March 23, 1983 | Reagan Proposes 'Star Wars' Missile Defense