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Calvin Chu

Professor Broadbent

Writing 39C

14 April, 2018

Money Problems

For my historical conversations project, I want to frame the United States’s problem of

debt. More specifically, I want to investigate the United States’s outrageous amount of military

spending in relation to the rest of the world. Over the last decade and a half, US military

spending has nearly doubled, starting from $301.70 billion in the year 2000 to $611.19 billion in

the year 2016. In a time where over half of the United States’s discretionary budget is spent on

defense, accounting for 37% of the world’s total military spending, it is obvious that the debate

over military spending is one that holds impact over not only the country’s citizens, but also over

the rest of the world.

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In recent years, the public eye has also debated its views on military spending, resulting

in an almost equal amount of Americans who believe that current military spending is too much

and Americans who believe that there should be cuts to military spending. From a political

standpoint, military spending has been a long fought debate between the Democrats, in favor of

cutting military spending, and the Republicans, in favor of increasing military spending.

The problem of spending on our country’s defense is a problem that affects politics,

society, as well as economics. From a political standpoint, the bipartisan aspect of our

government allows for differing schedules to develop. On one hand, the Democratic party is in

support of cutting the military spending budget in hopes of increasing other departments, such as

education or homeland security. On the other hand, Republicans tend to support increasing

military spending instead of other departments. From a societal standpoint, the state of our

nation’s military plays a vital role ensuring the safety of our nation and wellbeing of citizens.

From an economic standpoint, the amount of spending we use on the military affects the amount

of money the government is able to allocate to other departments as well as the overall debt of

the United States.

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Historically, the topic of military spending is essential in providing safety for the nation

as a whole. Currently, the urgency of this problem has never been greater due to the election of

President Trump. Trump’s 2018 budget proposal included increasing military spending by $54

billion, quite the opposite from the American majority who prefer a military budget cut of $41

billion. Furthermore, Trump’s 2019 budget proposal includes even more money spent on

defense and even more money being taken away from other departments. The urgency of the

issue of military spending is ever so increasing due to Trump’s agenda to continuously increase

military budget.

This problem statement is a very barebones blueprint of what I want my HCP to be. In

the further drafts of my HCP, I want to explore the consequences of both increasing and

decreasing the military budget as well as possible future outcomes following the budget

proposals Trump has proposed. The United States’s problem of military spending is one that

affects every department our government has, every citizen in the nation, and every country in

the world.
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Carey, Peter. “Americans Favor Cutting Defense Spending, Not Adding Billions More, New

Survey Finds.” Salon, Salon.com, 23 Mar. 2017, www.salon.com/2017/03/23/the-public-favors-

cutting-defense-spending-not-adding-billions-more-new-survey-finds_partner/.

Gallup, Inc. “Military and National Defense.” Gallup.com, news.gallup.com/poll/1666/military-

national-defense.aspx.

RepublicanViews.org. “Home.” Republican Views, 1 Mar. 2015,

www.republicanviews.org/democratic-views-on-military-spending/.

RepublicanViews.org. “Home.” Republican Views, 1 Mar. 2015,

www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-military-spending/.

Staff, Washington Post. “What Trump Proposed Cutting in His 2019 Budget.” The Washington

Post, WP Company, 16 Feb. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/politics/trump-

budget-2019/?utm_term=.8e1ec60bef16.

“U.S. Defense Spending Compared to Other Countries.” Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 1 June

2017, www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison.