Military Spending

Considering the depth of our Federal Deficit, we should ask why our military spending is so much out of proportion with the rest of the globe.   Admittedly, these figures are not adjusted for purchasing power: I am sure that a Chinese soldier earns less than a US soldier.  Nevertheless, it seems unreasonable that our military spending is more than the next 18 largest counties combined.  

During Ronald Reagan's presidency, the US engaged in a military arms race with the intent to bankrupt the Soviet Union.  This strategy, combined with an engineered drop in the price of oil, succeeded in bringing down the Soviet Union.   The Soviet situation in the 1980's is similar to the United States today -- but we are doing it to ourselves.

Federal Budget

The Federal Debt in 2010 is about 14.2 trillion dollars, or about 97% of annual GDP.
The annual increase, including supplemental appropriations (not included in the "budget deficit", was $1.7 trillion in 2010, following increases of $1 trillion and $1.9 trillion in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_budget_deficit

The NY Times has two interesting graphics about the budget.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/02/01/us/budget.html

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html

Note the size of the blocks represented on the NYtimes budget graphic.  Military spending, Social Security and Medicare are by far the largest components of Federal spending.  Any discussion of spending cuts which does not include major cuts in these three areas is not worthy of serious consideration.