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DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS CUTS AND MILITARY READINESS

RECENT DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS CUTS AND MILITARY READINESS

This research paper discusses pro and con arguments about the effects, if any, of recent reductions in appropriations for the armed services on their state of readiness. The thesis is that they may indeed have adverse impact on readiness, but those effects could be eliminated if compensating savings were made in other parts of the American defense budget which, however, do not appear to be feasible for political and other reasons.

Recent Military Funding Levels and Trends

Defense budget outlays of the United States are $266 billion for fiscal year (FY) 1998, and actual outlays (expenditures) are projected by the Office of Management and Budget to increase slightly over the succeeding four FYs (1999-2002): $256 billion in FY 1999, $262.9 billion in FY 2000, $265.9 billion in FY 2001, and $275.5 billion in FY 2001. These figures do not include $13 billion per annum spent by the Department of Energy on the national nuclear stockpile and include some classified spending of intelligence agencies which is included in the Pentagon budget. This compares with peak annual outlays during the Vietnam War and the Reagan military buildup of the mid- to late-1980s of about $405-415 billion or a reduction during the past 10 years of roughly 45 percent before inflation. Bandow says that "outlays have fallen, but . . . expenditures today remain above those of 1980."

Some interesting statistical comparisons are as follows:

(1) Defense spending represents about 3 percent of GDP, compared with about 6 percent during the Reagan years. This is the lowest percentage since before Pearl Harbor.

(2) During the past 10 years, the overall budget outlays of the federal government have increased from $1,064 billion in FY 1988 to $1,687 billion in FY 1998 (est.), reflecting the enormous growth of federal domestic entitlement programs and interest payments on the national debt. ...

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DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS CUTS AND MILITARY READINESS. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:57, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1707956.html