Who’s blowing stuff up? I’m Mr. Beat, and it’s well-known that the United
States spends more money on its military…BY FAR…than any other country in the world.
In fact, 40% of all military spending around the entire world is done by the United States.
It spends more money on its military than the next ten countries COMBINED.
And it’s been this way for a lonnnng time. More than 80 years.
Since World War Two, the United States has spent the most money
on its military. Even after the Cold War ended in 1991,
the United States was like, “let’s just keep spending a bunch of money on our military.”
In fact, let’s spend MORE.
On March 28, 2022, President Joe Biden asked Congress for $813 billion in military spending,
and Congress was like “what the heck?!?
That’s wayyyy too much money! We can’t afford that! What about inflation?”
Nah, just kidding, Congress not only approved $813 billion in military spending,
but it gave President Biden an extra $45 billion that he DIDN’T ask for.
(turns) To put that in perspective, $45 billion is more than twice as much as it would cost to
end homelessness in the United States. (turns) This year, President Biden has
asked for $842 billion in military spending, and he’ll probably get more than he asked for again.
And that’s because military spending is one of the few things that tends to be bipartisan,
meaning…both Republicans and Democrats in Congress generally are cool with this
massive spending, despite one recent poll showing that 35% of
Americans say the United States spends TOO MUCH on its military.
So why DOES the United States spend so much on its military?
First of all, because the United States is often the world’s police.
The American military controls around 750 military bases in at least 80 countries around the world.
It has troops in as many as 150 countries. Some of these are countries where it has military
bases might surprise you. For example, did you know it has a military base in Honduras? Also,
did you know it has 120 bases in Japan alone? In recent years, the United States has spent
tens of billions of dollars maintaining JUST THOSE MILITARY BASES IN JAPAN. The governments
of all these countries where there’s American military bases are mostly cool with it. After all,
they’re getting extra security with an American military presence, and often for free. However,
as documented in this classic book, Blowback by the late Chalmers Johnson,
many of the local residents DON’T want foreign troops in their backyards.
Regardless, for at least 75 years, most of the world has just accepted and even welcomed the
fact that the United States is often the world’s police force, the country that seemingly steps in
to put out all the fires in the world. Not only that, but it has formal treaties that
make it obligated to step for the defense of at least 51 countries around the world.
Others argue that a huge American military budget is necessary to “spread democracy”
or “defeat authoritarianism” around the world. Notice how I put those in quotes since often the
American government is, in reality, often just preserving authoritarianism and hurting
democracy around the world through its military actions. Even others say a huge military budget
is needed to counter the growing military threat and aggression of Russia and China. Then again,
many argue that the growing military threat and aggression of Russia and China is BECAUSE of
American military interventionism around the globe, but ya know…
However, there’s another, much more nefarious, reason why the United States government spends
so much gosh darn money on its military, and that’s the military industrial complex.
The military industrial complex describes how a military, government and the defense
industry all work together since they all benefit from each other. It’s often
represented by this iron triangle. Oh, uh, iron triangles are triangles made of iron.
Yes, yes. Wait no…no. Oops, I meant to say iron triangles are triangles that demonstrate close,
mutually supportive relationships between those in the legislative branch,
executive branch and special interest groups or industries.
So here’s the military industrial complex iron triangle thingy, at least in the United States.
Up here representing the legislative branch is the United States Congress,
who provides the funding for military spending in the country. Down here,
representing the executive branch, is the Department of Defense, made up of the military
itself and the part of the iron triangle that actually GETS the money to spend. Over here,
representing the special interest groups or industries part, is the defense industry,
the military contractors, the corporations like Lockheed Martin and Boeing that produce weapons.
Remember, we all respond to incentives. Yes, even you, John.
The military industrial complex is an example of what’s known as a conflict of interest,
or a situation in which people who are supposed to be working on behalf of the public instead
let their own personal incentives guide their decisions, which makes them unreliable. For
example, if a politician makes a lot of money in the coal industry and then proceeds to vote
against any bill that potentially hurts the coal industry, that’s a conflict of interest.
Let’s look at the incentives in the military industrial complex (pointing). The lawmakers are
incentivised by campaign contributions from the defense industry. In the United States, lawmakers
spending more money on the military usually means they’ll have an easier time getting re-elected,
not due to voter support….hahahahaha….but due to corporations and interest groups
funding their re-election campaigns. They also are incentivised to get weapons produced in factories
in the districts or states they represent. They are incentivised to build military bases in the
districts or states they represent. The military is incentivised obviously to get more money for
itself, but also for political support. Many lawmakers and members of the military also get
jobs in the defense industry after they retire. And vice versa! Lobbyists from the defense
industry often find themselves becoming lawmakers. In politics, this phenomenon is often called
the revolving door. And finally, the defense industry is incentivized to uh, make money. Duh!
As I hinted at earlier, military industrial complexes can occur and
often occur in countries around the world, not just the United States.
It’s just that the United States, uh, ya know, is most well-known for it.
It was in the United States, after all, that the term “military industrial complex” first
became widely used after President Dwight Eisenhower popularized it in
his Farewell Address on . Not only did he popularize it. He talked trash about it!
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry
is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is
felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the
imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications.
Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our
society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition
of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex.
The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.
Now, keep in mind that while Eisenhower WARNED against the military-industrial complex,
he also thought that building up a strong military was still a good idea.
Also, remember that military spending ain't just about weapons. Much of it is spent on people,
paying the salaries of and providing services for the fine folks of the armed forces,
their families, and those who work with them.
So why should YOU care about the military industrial complex and
not are about Pokemon instead? (turns) Keep in mind you can care about both.
Well, while the military industrial complex literally employs millions of people and generates
billions of dollars in revenue, it also has led to policies that prioritizes military spending
and the use of military force over arguably more important priorities like education,
healthcare, and infrastructure. While the military industrial complex arguably helps
national security, it also threatens it. You see, the more weapons produced,
the more weapons are out there, and the more weapons that are out there,
the more weapons are used, and the more weapons are used, the more people are killed.
Alright, let’s stop sugarcoating this. The military industrial complex increases the
incentives for war. As long as people are going to be profiting from war,
war will continue to happen, and the military industrial complex ensures people continue to
profit greatly from war. If you pay attention closely, you’ll find that these corporations
that produce weapons are often the biggest cheerleaders of war. Hmmm. Go figure!
Originally, Eisenhower called the military industrial complex the military industrial
CONGRESSIONAL complex, but he apparently dropped the “Congressional” part before
giving his speech to not make anyone in Congress upset. Well that was nice of him.
But here’s the thing. Ultimately, if we want to get rid of the military industrial complex,
it’s up to Congress to do just that. (turns) You see, Congress makes laws (turns) and they
could literally make laws that limit corporate influence on themselves and the military. (turns)
But why would they do that? Why would they hurt themselves? (turn) Oh they’d
do it because YOU (pointing at camera) demanded they do
it because guess what? YOU are the boss of politicians. You hire them,
and you can fire them if they don’t do what you want. Now go vote dad gomit! (catching breath)
Anyway, uh yeah. So that’s the military industrial complex.
[Music]
So what do YOU think? Is the military industrial complex ruining society? Hey let me know if you
don’t mind. Also, if you want to learn more about all this, I highly recommend that you check out
Blowback, that book I mentioned earlier, but also Why We Fight, a documentary that came out 18 years
ago but surprisingly, and depressingly, holds up quite well. Thanks for watching!