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The Pros And Cons Of US Defense Budgeting

648 Words3 Pages

But, everything the military decides to do comes with a cost. This is a common concern when Americans are discussing nuclear weapons. They claim that the US simply cannot afford to be improving its nuclear program. But, the budget for maintaining the US nuclear systems is actually quite small. The US nuclear force is only about two to three percent of the defense budget (Costlow 1). Being that the US defense budget is so large, the nuclear weapons section is actually quite miniscule. “Since the number of nuclear weapons in the national stockpile has fallen over seventy-five percent since 1991, there is little margin left to cut” (Costlow 1). If the US were to increase this stockpile, the price would eventually also increase. But, even after modernization coming in 2020, it’s estimated that it won’t reach five percent of the budget (Costlow 2). …show more content…

Analysts think they can save one hundred and twenty billion dollars over the next thirty years but this will amount to less than one percent with the budget being five hundred billion annually (Costlow 1). This again shows that the United States defense budget is so large that advancing its nuclear program would not make a major difference in its spending. Even if this is not convincing enough, there are many other parts of the government that could be adjusted to save money. The US could save between 3.1 and 5.7 billion annually by switching non combat, military jobs to civilian jobs (Costlow 2). The US could adjust several parts of the government if it is in dire need of money. But, improving its nuclear program should prove to be a cheap

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