Is Military Spending an issue?

When it comes to deciding which issues are most important to an American voter, not many come across to the importance of military spending. Mainly because many Americans believe that the United States current military budget is good at where its at. Also because non-military voters worry more about other issues such as jobs, the economy, education and health care.

Although the U.S military budget is known by many, it is surprising to see how the majority of Americans agree that the current budget should stay how it is. According to an article from the Washington Post, the U.S military budget stands at $598 billion. This amount accounts for more than a third of global spending. Seeing how foreign issues are unfolding relating to terrorism and the Islamic State's war on European countries and the U.S. It is no wonder that anyone would think to decrease military spending. 

(via Washington Post, 2016)

Military spending and the might of American leadership is always thought with prominence. This is shown by the immense amount of U.S military bases that are located in foreign soil. The U.S currently has around 800 military bases scattered around the globe. Most of which were created after the end of WWII, where the presence of the American military in foreign countries was necessary for the creation and stability of democracy upon war-torn Europe and Asia. Yet, after the end of WWII and the wars caused by the Cold War, these bases still continue to exist and remain occupied. Which also means that the Department of Defense continues to use American tax dollars to fund and maintain these bases. Here is a video regarding the U.S current status on foreign bases:

(via Youtube)

You might be questioning why the United States, or more specifically Congress, doesn't decrease a substantial amount that is used to fund the military. There are many reasons for why this does not happen. According to a blog post written by Jon Davis, a former U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant, there are three reasons that he writes which answers why the military rates do not decrease. 

He presents his first reason by stating that "being even is the deadliest form of warfare". By this statement, Davis means that in order to save more lives and defeat a battle or war in a more efficient and quick way, a military force must outweigh the power of the opposite force significantly. A real life example of this is during the Iraq war when Saddam Hussein's military was defeated in less than a month by coalition forces. Which saved a tremendous amount of lives because the coalition attacked in full force in the first place.

Secondly, the everlasting development of technology requires higher funds. A positive trend occurs with military technology in relation to funding. In order for the U.S military to possess the most modern forms of equipment and utilities, the military budget must be consistent in providing sufficient amounts of funding for development.

The last reason relates to the role that the U.S. has in maintaining peace and being a global force for good. The role of leadership that the U.S. possesses is needed for the stability of various nations across the world. This is why a substantial amount of funding is used towards the military. This reason also answers why the military budget does not decrease in reality.

I agree that the military budget should stay how it is (promotes defense, peace and leadership). Of course, if the current budget were to decrease, this would give way to more spending for other things such as education, public transportation and science (NASA). Although this issue is not as popular because of safety reasons. Having American influence in foreign countries is important for stability and peace. Yet,  I still believe that there should be more authority by the people in terms of what amount is spent towards funding the military. Therefore being an issue that should be taken with importance as a voter.