Wednesday, January 12, 2011

US MILITARY SPENDING: US Defence Champs Unmatched

IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board

Extreme superiority of the US defence over the rest of the world
United States' supremacy as the sole superpower is not without its reasons. According to Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, an adherent and credible US based research organisation, an overwhelming 48 per cent of world's defence spending comes from this one country alone. What is more surprising is that 46 of the highest defence spending nations cannot match the budget of this lone superpower! The base budget of US for 2009 was a staggering $680 billion up from a $607 billion of 2008. Though Obama suggested a curtailment after winning the election, it was actually $16 billion more than what he advocated. But above all, the projection for 2010 is more astonishing. The proposed expenditure includes a $33 billion additional bill to be used in Afghanistan and Iraq war, apart from $216 billion that could also be used, and another $361 billion spending for Department of Defence (DoD), which makes the grand total in 2010 to be an astounding $1.03 trillion. This figure is a sharp escalation from the 2001 budget of $432 billion. The DoD accounted for 19 per cent of total federal budget and 28 per cent of tax revenue, and if we consider the additional amount of non DoD expenditures, the figure turns out to be 25-29 per cent of the federal budget and 38-44 per cent of the tax revenues.

Such colossus figures are way ahead of the rest of the world. The US is followed by Europe (including NATO and non-NATO countries) with 22.43 per cent of the total world military spending, Middle East with 7.03 per cent, Latin America with 3.69 per cent, and sub-Saharan Africa with a meagre 0.77 per cent. US' spending is approximately 5.8 times of China (that spends 5.31 per cent of the global budget), 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times that of Iran. More interestingly, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute raised another perspective. Even though China and Russia come right after the US in the defence budget, it is Western European nations that are leading the way in arms sales and enjoy a competitive edge in high technology available to them. British giant Aerospace Systems, a state-owned manufacturing enterprise leads the world in arms production, while Russian Ahmaz-Antei is the only non-NATO country's arms manufacturer in top 20. Centre for Arms Control and Non Proliferation's study reveals Gulf Cooperation Council Countries increased their military budget in recent years in response to Iran's nuclear programme, a reality that has threatened even Israel compelling it to step up its defence expenditure.

Despite the recession looming large over the entire world, including the US that is experiencing high level of debt and budget deficits, and despite Obama's centre-left posture along with Democrats' suggestions about reining-in military spending, the government could not do all this in reality because of various pressure groups, especially the arms contractors. Defence spending is relevant but US' gigantic budget is maddening. After all, it is the global cop with a headache for the entire world.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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