Military expenditure in the US as % of GDP is know to about +/- 0.2% which for the US with a 10 trillion (10**12) GDP, is an error of +/- 20 Billion. That's generally considered real money, even in Washington.
One thing a high level of defense spending gets are some economies of scale.
Additionally, since after 1066, there has been a promotion of what we now call 'dual use' activities, such as archery contests in every village (paid off at Agincourt).
Some of these activities, like ham radio, provide trained operators and depth of technical knowledge for critical activities.
Others, such as the Civil Air Patrol, the US Power Squadron (assists the Coast Guard in non-critical boating safety - the guy who ran out of gas.) Ski Patrol, etc. provide third and fourth tier back ups and training experinces.
Some acitivities to enhance civilian readines, like the US Army's Department of Civilian Markmanship, and it's parrallel civilian organization, the National Rifle Association, have become somewhat controversial ;-)
In other cases, the hidden hand of DARPA / CIA / who knows what influences everything from industrial policy to the teaching of math and science.
So like Switzerland, a huge part of the economy has an option to have a bayonet attached... |
