The data shows how much nations around the world spend on their military. It also depicts the overall spending cost from the rest of the world. I notice that the US spend the most on their military.
The U.S. is very protective of their nation, and the equipment has become very expensive nowadays. Also other countries prioritize things other than the military. I wonder what’s the most expensive piece of military technology that the US has
@Aram Baregamyan, I agree with your idea that the U.S. is very protective of its nation and that military equipment is very expensive. Other nations are not as concerned about defense as the US because the US protects many of them.
We noticed that it seems like America is getting ready for war, and it seems like our budget is so high because America is an agressive country. We wondered has it grown more since this was published. We also wondered why the US spends so much on military vs education and other parts of the budget. Possible titles for graphic: - Military Money, & America Spends $ on Military like it's a Favorite Child.
1.In this graph i can realize that most of the worlds most powerful countries such as the united states and the following 7 countries are spending as much or even more then the rest of the world and that enormous gap between the spending shows how advances and poor some countries are and how you can either have money or you don't and theirs nobody that will help u out.
2. If we do not change this huge gap in a span of about 20 years there will be some countries that will feel that they are so advanced that they do not need to be allied with anyone and believe that they don't need to obey anyone and once they believe that i believe that that would lead to a full on world war 3 and ultimately the destruction of many powerful and weak countries.
I personally feel like we spend way too much on our military. It feels as if that money could be going towards other things. On the flip side though, we have a fantastic military which could be a result of how much money we are putting into it compared to other countries which is overall helping us out in the short and in the long run.
@Grace I agree with the idea that we spend way to much money on our military because we should begin to ay more attention to our schools because at the end of the day they/we are the future of the world and we should be helped out a little bit more.
@Grace, I disagree with your idea that "we spend way too much on our military". The United States spends so much of its money on its military because it is a primary defender of the free world. The threat of the United States forces aggressive nations to peacefully resolve their conflicts. The United States also spends so much money on its military because it has so much to spend. Most of the budget America has is spent on Medicare and Social Security.
Why does the US spend so freaking much like maybe we should go to like war for no reason because we have like so much money.
I notice how the gap between the us military budget and other countries is not only large (which I expected) but is utterly astonishing. The next country in line which is China is a mere fraction of the US’s budget.
I believe that a good portion of that money goes towards soldiers pay, veterans, medicine, transportation, etc. but still this makes me wonder where all that money goes and also if it’s worth it. If the money is going towards nuclear weapons then I simply don’t get it, I doubt I would anyways. There are already more then enough wepons of mass destruction to kill all of humanity and make earth a barren waste land. Even if this is not the case I am still wondering where all the money could possibly go.
Seeing these statistics on military spending really makes me question what sections of the government like NASA could do with that budget. With these resources NASA could finally fund many of their groundbreaking concepts. I recently read of sail like satellites that use lasers to propel them forwards at the speeds close to 20% of light speed. To this point in human history we have only reached 2% of light speed. These ships if launched today they could essentially reach Alpha Centauri system which isn’t the closest solar system to outbid own. This would be a monumental part of history and it could really work, NASA simply doesn’t have the budget. So I wonder again is all that money towards the military worth it?
I name this: The cost of “dominance”
I had a conversation a few days ago in my AP history class regarding just this type of information. My teacher asked us what country spends the most on military equipment and most all of us responded with the United States. This is largely due to the idea that we are one of the largest and most powerful economies in the world, thus we need to be able to protect it; plus our military is a key part of our country's identity. We are the nation that fights for freedom, thus aiding to the idea that more weapons is better because it supports our nation and the conservation of it.
It is clear that the United States spends a great deal more money than any country in the world. It can seem insane that the United States is paying so much on its military while not engaging in any large-scale conflicts. However cutting down on our military budget is not as easy as it sounds.
NATO's military expenditures, which come predominately from the United States, hold up the new world order. The militaries protect vital supply chains while restoring and establishing stability and democracy.
Also, it is important to note that the United States is by far the richest country in the world in terms of GDP with China in second. From this perspective, US and Chinese expenditures don't look quite so large.
Unfortunately, since the fall of the Soviet Union, European NATO members' military expenditures have dropped off also. However, with rising Russian aggression, it is still important to maintain a strong defense budget. I agree with President Trump's pressure on other NATO members to contribute more, so the US does not need to carry the brunt of the financial burden.
The United States needs to do all it can to uphold its post-Soviet era position and values. While its military is expensive, free and global trade, democracy, and political stability in many parts of the world may not be possible without it and close coordination with NATO countries and other US allies.
that's quite a bit of money ._.
I notice that our military budget is so much larger than other countries. I wonder where all that money is going. We’re nit currently at war. “Do we actually need more of a military budget” the graph shows how large our budget is compared to other countries and then it says that there ais a $54 billion increase proposed.
@Ezekiel WilcoxI agree with you about the your idea of why we have so much budget it gives me a sense that maybe the united states has that much money because they know that something big is going to happen and they don't want to tell the people until it is public to the world.
One thing I notice is that the US alone even spends more money on the military than even the next seven countries combined. It makes little sense as the US has not been in war itself for a long time, and why spend so much money on the military. I know most of it is sending troops to Syria, Afghanistan, etc. Also, someone could make the argument that the US could spend less money on troops defending the border with building a wall, but the money using that would put the US even more in debt. I wonder if this number could go down and if is this all time, or in a matter of fifty years. A title for this could be, "The US and military involvement; needed or obsolete?"
@Lucas A I had the same thought. The increase proposed just seems suspicious to me, in fact. Where is that money going to go?
I noticed that size of country doesn’t necessarily mean that the country spends more or less on protection of its territory which is interesting. I’d expect the bigger the country to more it’d spend. I wonder why the US spends so much money on the military. Title should be US is Spending too much money on military.
I notice that the U.S. cares way more than other countries about their military and how much money they put into it. I don't understand why everyone doesn't spend more money on the military since it is the first line of defense and the only defense of your country if you will. The story of what this is telling is, is that the united states compared to the next 7 countries is more of a militarized country and likes to spend a lot of money on that when they could be fixing roads and healthcare. A catchy name for this graph could be something like " How much does your country actually care about their military".
I don't understand why the United States feels the need to spend so much money on the military, while they could better use our tax money on things like healthcare and roads.
1. the United States has spent the most on their military
2. How much has North Korea spent on their military
3.The smaller dots that aren't labeled might be other courties
I noticed that the U.S. spends a lot of money on our military more than other countries do. I wonder why this is. This graph shows how our country spends money on our military compared to the rest of the world.
this graph shows the military spending between many countries. i notice that the us spends the most.
I notice that the United Spends much more on the military than other countries in the world.
I wonder if countries are able to spend as much as the U.S but do not because it is not a priority for them.
This graph is showing the amounts that several countries spend on their militaries.
I noticed that the U.S. has more military spending than anywhere else in the world. I wonder why the U.S. feels the need to waste so much money when it could be going towards something else - such as postsecondary education funding. This graph shows just how much money is being wasted when it could be used for a good cause.
The graph shows how much more the U.S spends than other countries. We spend way more and it goes to show how awful we are in our spending. We might be prepared if we go to war but we already are in debt and this isn't helping. I wonder what exactly this is used for.
I think that this graph shows how threatened the united states feel. There is really no reason for us to be spending more than the other top 7 countries combined. So yes if we do end up going to a war we will probably be prepared. But we haven't had a major war in a very long time and I don't think there will be a big war in the near future. So for us to still be spending this much on the military when we have better things that we could be spending that money on is ridiculous.
I notice The us spends an ungodly amount of money on our military compared to every other country in the world. I wonder the reasoning considering there are other countries with much larger populations and countries with a compared amount of riches as the US. Whats going on in this graph is a accurate depiction on how america needs to proportion the spending differently based on modern needs and national debt.
I notice that the United States spends a much larger sum of money on its military than the rest of the world, nearly triple than the country with the second-most. I wonder what countries the other dots represent? What's going on in this graph is a display of how disproportional our country spends on military as opposed to the rest of the world.
America makes up for 1/3 of the entire world’s defense budget.
In the graph above, it appears to me that the U.S. leads the world, or at least the other countries depicted in the graph, in military spending, with a whopping $596 billion represented by the largest circle in the group. We are followed by China, who spends $215 billion on its military, and thirdly by Saudi Arabia, who spends $87 million. Upon analyzing this graph, I wonder if there is a correlation between military might and having a prominent, influential position on the world stage and in international affairs? I am also curious about why there is a proposed increase of $54 billion when we already outnumber the runner-up, China, by $381 billion? Given that the number is so large, I would like to know precisely where all of this $596 billion is going, or how it is being used. Also, how does this amount of spending compare to the spending in previous presidential administrations? Going along with that, why might we spend more (or perhaps less) on the military than in previous years? Ultimately, this graph is endeavoring to communicate the notion that military strength is a priority. Perhaps the massive quantity of money being spent on the military indicates that foreign relations are not very smooth, and even that war is eminent.
Headline: When is Enough, Enough?
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What I noticed about this graph is that the United States military spendings is a lot more than other countries. I wonder why do we spend the most money out of all the countries? I think this graph is trying to prove that the United States has a very strong and prepared military program.
I wonder why the USA spends 596 billion on the military.
China has more troops in their military, though the US could beat them in a war because we have stronger weapons and skills. We might actually beat the world in a war.
I notice that the USA spends the most amount of money. I wander why that is
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i think it is interesting that all the green countrys together not including united states are not even as big as the united states
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I wonder why the U.S. military spends the most money
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I notice that the U.S. military spends the most mony
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With this data could we take on the next 7 countries and still have a bigger army than them. How about the title like the US ready for the next great war. This also might be why the US is nearly 2 trillion in debt. This is also because we spend money for people to go to college. Somebody tell Trump to lower our spending so we don't make stupid allences
@Ryan
Actually, it is better that we spend more on the military. Plus, what is the problem with alliances? The more the spent money doesn't mean more troops. China itself actually has more troops than the US. The US still does have a higher chance to win, because the US has very advanced weapons and military tactics.
I notice that the United States has a much bigger budget for its military than the all the other countries. Its budget is more than twice the size of the next biggest military budget from China! I wonder why the United States has so much of a bigger budget compared to other countries, and if this has anything to do with the U.S. economy. I wonder what the graph would look like if they compared the budget for the military of each country proportionate to each country’s economy. I also wonder why there is a proposed increase and if the United States is actually using all the money in the military budget. The story the graph is telling is that the United States military budget is much, much bigger than that of any other country in the world.
The U.S. have spend more than any more military. I wonder are they ready for anything. They have the money to make ammo transportation to help them in wars.
@Brett Goff
Hi! You mention that the enormous amount of military spending allows the US to fund things such as ammunition and transportation; what are some other uses of this money? Where do you think this money should primarily be funneled towards?
After seeing the amount compared to other countries, I wonder if it's because of quality of equipment or quantity. I understand that it may account for money spent on troops, but I want to know what weapons and gear it goes to. (We would crush the world in a game of Agar.io.)
The United States is just ready for anything. In my opinion, this amount of money is not necessary at this point in time, but when it is time, we will have money for research and new weapons and ammunition technology, and then everybody is going to be thankful and lucky that all that money went in to the United States military budget, because we will still be alive.
@Austin Soto
Hi! Why do you think that having this amount of money is unnecessary at this juncture? After all, are U.S.-North Korean as well as U.S.-Russian relations not very rocky? Isn't failing to prepare preparing to fail?
The chart is representing how much money each country has spent on the military. The U.S. spends way more money than anyone else on the chart.
@jacy eaves
What do you think the reason is for the U.S. spending way more money than any of the other countries?
I noticed the United States is spending more than the next 7 highest countries combined in military spending.
I wonder why we spend so much/are increasing how much we’re spending on military when our country is not in need of more.
The United States is Getting Ready For Never Ending War
Thanks to all students who responded. Love the catchy headlines that capture the main ideas of the graph: “Military Spending, the Window to a Country's Soul” by Gui of Rialto, CA, “United States Military Domination -- In Spending” by Andrew of Omaha, and “Billion of Dollars on Warfare. Is It Worth It?” by Sophia of CA.
You can continue to post responses. Dig deeper into these graphs. Please check back tomorrow -- Thursday afternoon, Feb. 14 to see the Reveal with a link to the original New York Times article, some questions about the graphs, and one Stat Nuggets.
The next graph will be released next week -- THURSDAY, FEB. 21, with moderation on WEDNESDAY, February 27! You may respond before, during, or after the live moderation by going to “What's Going On In This Graph?”
Signing off – Sharon Hessney in Boston, who wonders how military budgets of countries worldwide has changed over time, and Heather Overstreet of Rocky Mount, Virginia, who wonders how the military spending will change in years to come.
The Most Powerful Money Spender
I noticed that America spends over 550 billion dollars on the military which is more than the next 7 countries combined as well as the rest of the countries which spent less than 550 billion. The next largest individual money spender is China which is half the amount of money that America has spent.
I wonder if in the future technology will require more money or with such advancements less money will be needed as the technology is so advanced and how would we be able to cut down their money spending what specific yaw is th money spent.?
1) I noticed that this graph was organized as both circles and horizontal bars. The size of the circles seem to represent the amount of military spending each country partakes in, possibly excluding the United States because the circle would likely be too big. It looks like the color represents spending as well- maybe a darker green symbolizes more spending. The bars compare the United States to the next seven countries, emphasizing the fact that the US spends more than the next seven countries combined, and every country besides the top 8 spenders combined. The graph also shows that the US spends double the next country (China) does.
2) I wonder if any other countries are proposing any bills that would put them further up. I’m also wondering why are we specifically spending as much as we are and is there any way we could spend a couple billion on other systems in the us that would help in other areas (possibly more education spending?)
3) The United States is spending too much!
It shows how much money the countries are spending for military uses. I totally understand on why we would spend that much on the military because we have to be prepared for anything. No one knows how much they need the materials and stuff and neither do I.
Money doesn’t buy peace. I noticed that the US spends more on their military than the 7 next closest countries combined. It’s no wonder that the US spends the most on their military considering the amount and duration of recent wars the US has been involved with.
HI, @Zack --
Is your headline "Money Doesn't Buy Peace"?
1. I noticed we spend a lot of money per year on our military.
2. I wonder about what percent of the money goes into R AND D
3. Military spending
i wonder too how much does go into R and D
I noticed that the US by far spent the most money on military affairs, with almost all of the other countries combined.
I wonder why our country has the most money spent out of all the countries in comparison.
What’s up with Military Affairs?
I noticed that the United States used more money than both the next 7 countries and the rest of the world.
I wonder why we spend the most money? Does this affect our success rate of safety or is it not being used efficiently.
Military Money of Certain Countries
1. I noticed that America spends the most money by far on military which is smar
2. I wonder what North Korea spends
3. America is best
1. I noticed that the United States has the highest proposed increased for money spent by on military compared to any other country on the graph.
2. I wonder why the United States spends the most money?
3. “Money spent on military”
1. I noticed that the United States spends twice as much as the second closest spender.
2. I wonder why we spend the most on military each year even though are military is already far superior to others.
Write a catchy title that captures the graph's main idea: make America’s military great again
I noticed the United States spends more money on the military than the next 7 countries combined.
I wonder which country spends the least on military.
A catchy caption would be “The U.S stays strapped”
America #1
I noticed that the U.S. spends by far the most money on their military. I wonder what sets America apart by so much from all the other countries.
I noticed that on the graph it shows all the countries amount of money they use in the military each year. As you can see there's a lot of amount of money that the united states uses they use 596 billion on the military each year and they're looking forward to adding another 54 billion to their amount. I wonder why does the U.S spend so much money on the military compared to other countries they use way less money than them, to me 596 billion on military seems too much, are they actually using all that money on the military, and thinking if they can be using all that money for the U.S and things that need to be done and improve the country. In the graph what's going is that its showing how much each country spends on their military and at the bottom it shows how the U.S spends the most along with 7 other countries but the rest of the countries they all of them together spend the same amount that the U.S alone does.
I find it interesting that America spends that much, but it's not surprising. America is the military superpower in the world as we speak our military spending has gone up to $686 Billion. I wonder if we will stop spending more money on our military? America spends the most money out of all of them.
@David
What could be a possible reason for the U.S. to decrease military funding?
This graph depicts the absurd monetary funds being put towards the United States military in comparison to other significant world powers and how much they spend on their military. I wonder why the United States feels the need to spend so much unnecessary money on the military when these funds could potentially go towards education, housing, or the arts and sciences, not to mention aiding impoverished families, individuals, or even VETERANS. I am shocked, and mildly repulsed, at the reality that the next 7 largest countries spend less on their militaries combined than the US does alone. A headline for this graph might be "Big Stick or Big Checks? How much money we really need to invest in the military"
HI, @Carina P. --
You headline is very interesting -- "Big Stick or Big Checks? How much money we really need to invest in the military." But, I think the Big Checks pay for the big Sticks or do you have a different idea.
@Moderator Sharon I would agree, but my concern would be how much money do military and political officials deem really necessary to uphold this "big stick" persona of the United States? In other words, is military egotism not a tad bit outdated, and frankly inappropriate, for our time? I certainly think so. An afterthought of mine is that news sources should look both at the potential tremendous increase of the already significant military budget as well as the motives of specific groups and individuals with political pedigree who are pushing for such increase.
I noticed that the united states spend the most money on military. I wonder why we spend so much more than any other country by a lot. Whats going on this graph is that the us spends the most amount of money spending and the next 7 countries combined still doesn't beat the money spending America does.
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I notice that the US has increased their spending the most. Why does the US spend the most for military. Why does the next 7 countries that spend the most not make up the same amount that the US spends.
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It baffles me that Russia, given its size, spends a small fraction on its military compared to the States. Can we not distribute some of this money in the United States to better the education system or provide clean water to Flint, Michigan? The fact that China, who has one of the largest military forces along with their massive size and population, spends basically half as much as the United States.
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@Bradley C, I agree with the first part of your comment, as it is a massive amount of spending where even a reletivly small budget cut would bring more money to, for example the education system. for the secod part the average chinese soldier has around $1.5k of gear while the american troops have $17k of gear.
HI, @Jacob W --
That's a very interesting statistic you give -- "the average chinese soldier has around $1.5k of gear while the american troops have $17k of gear." What is its source?
Do the Chinese soldiers have "enough" gear? Do the US soldiers have too much gear? This kind of analysis is needed to really understand the military budget requirements.
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What I notice is that the U.S. is spending multi billion dollar investments on the military more than the other countries all together. The U.S. spends $596 billion when on the other hand 7 countries put together round up to be $514 billion dollars in military spending. I’m curious on why do we need to spend all this money. I’m just so curious on why do the other states combined still have much less money that they have spent the The United States has. Another curiosity that I have is that if we are already on government shutdown then why are we spending billions of dollars extra on the military? What the graph is showing us how much money the United States is putting into the military. It shows that America is probably spending most of their money on the military then they do like all the other countries. Most of the other countries are probably using their money to help the people in their county.
I find it interesting that Japan has a lower budget than France. Japan has lots of natural disasters and France and the US didn't get along much when the US was a young nation.
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Good afternoon, @Patrick Do --
I wonder if the military budgets in all countries include working on natural disasters or are there separate budgets. I wonder how we could find this information.
I noticed that the United States spends much more money on their Military than any other country. I wonder why other countries even bother doing things that will make America get involved because America has much more firepower. A catchy headline could be " How much better is America's Military?"
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I noticed that the US spends the most on military and France and India are around the same while japan is the lowest. i wonder why they didn't put the size of areas to show you the difference between the size and spending. also what are the things the country spend or buying for the military.
This graph shows the military spending in each country, and shows that America spends the most money on military. I notice the $54 billion proposed increase and that America is in a green, a color thsymbolizes money. The next seven largest spending countries are shown in a muted green, because although they all spend significant sums they spend less than the US. Other nations are shown in smaller gray circles (gray generally being a color that represents insignificance), representing the insignificance of their military budgets. The United States and the amount of spending is the primary focus of this graph. With these observations a good title for this graph would be "a violent growth of funding in America".
This graph is displaying the military spending by country. I notice how much the United States spends on military, according to the graph $596 billion to be exact. It is showing the United States in a larger circle compared to the rest of the countries which makes it seem like the US is superior. The next largest circle is China with 215. Then the rest of the countries such as Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, India and so on. I think based on this graph it may be implying that the United States has the strongest the military. I think this is a fair assumption and also a comforting one to know the country I live in is a safe environment.
there's a huge difference between the us spending and the rest of the world. these numbers show how massive the US military is and it explains why i feel safe within my country, our military is huge. I wonder about the larger countries and why their spending is s much lower than ours?
This graph is showing the increase in military spending but there is a discrepancy with the population size in each country. It also doesn't state the amount of time they have collected the data for and if this is until present time. It could be misleading for the United States because it shows they have had the most increase in military spending compared to less populated countries.
I was wondering as to what this is comparing it to? I noticed that the United States has the most increase in money for the Military.
There is a discrepancy with the population size between all of the different places, so I am not sure how valid all of this is.
This is an interesting figure when addressing military size, but I am most concerned with size. For example, the size of the country does not seem to be proportionate to military spending. Saudi Arabia geographically is exponentially larger than Britain, for example, and the spending does not show this much difference. Also, China and the United States are almost the same size geographically by square mileage and the spending does not represent this. I think this speaks greatly to how money is being spent on the federal level.
@Ellie G
You raise a good point in comparing geographical size to spending. Do you think the size of the bubbles would change if we look at the relative spending on military to overall spending?
@Moderator Heather Yes I think that they most certainly would. I would think that a per capita study would make the point of how much necessary spending is happening.
I know and noticed there have been many terrorist attacks, and I know why we should have fear. Though that doesn't mean we can spend all of the money to our military. We just can't and the reason is because we are falling in debt. This may seem not a problem to the president to him, because when he dies this won't be a problem to him but to the next president.I noticed this and I couldn't help but wonder why isn't anyone raising their voice. There are attacks,but even if we waste all of our money on safety they will always find a way to the crack of our armor. I wonder why, we aren't using this money for actual needed causes. Such as education that need it, we could help other countries to prosper. The graph is just a reminder that how much money we waste. A catchy headline could be " How much is safety worth?"
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Obviously, the US spends the most amount of money on the military. As for it being worth it? I think it is because I feel safe in my country knowing that the technology and strength of our military are enough to keep me safe (for the most part) on a day to day basis. However, the US is often victim to terrorist attacks and compared to other countries, the US spends over double the amount that the 2nd most spending country (China) spends so I feel that there should be more protection from large threats such as these attacks. Maybe the $54 billion increase will protect from terrorist attacks.
why didn't they include Pakistan army are not they they are good military in world.
@Hamza
This graph is called a “Bubble Map”. The bubbles that are identified are the top eight countries that spend the most. You can find an answer to your wonder about countries that spend less on their military in the source listed below the bubble map. There you will find the percentage military spending is to total government expenditures. Take a look and report back to us. Also, what would be a catchy headline for this map?
@Hamza I think that they are just basing it off the highest money spending countries for military, in this case. But great observation.
@Hamza
Maybe they didn't include the Pakistan army because they aren't as wealthy as other countries.
The US Military clearly spends the most, to protect the country. I don't see this as a problem, because I rather feel safe than sorry.
i don't think that the united states is strong enough basing on all that money
@Yorjan F What makes you think so? I ask because fiscally spending is significantly higher than in other nations.
Why the United State spend that amount of money in the military?
why they didn't include Australia cause they also have a great military.
I notice the amount of money that each country spend on their military forces.
Does military strength necessarily account to the amount being spent on that military?
@Martin I'm curious about this as well considering the US spends so much more than the other countries. Our military is very strong, but I feel as though it should be a larger threat to other nations based on the difference in spending.
This graph clearly shows the military spending by country, and aims to give people a clear answer that yes, America spends the most money on military. In fact, it notes the $54 billion proposed increase for the nation as well. America is listed in a bold green, a color generally associated with money. The next seven largest spending countries are shown in a muted green, because although they all spend significant sums of money, all seven combined are still LESS than the total amount spent by the United states. Other nations are shown in smaller grey circles, representing the insignificance of their military budgets. This graph clearly finds value in keeping an eye on the large players in this political game. The United States is the primary focus of this graph, even though it is stated that this data comes out of a research institute in Stockholm. The United States is not portrayed in a positive or negative light in this data, but it can easily be used as tool for either side of the political spectrum. Those who favor a strong military can use this data as a way to support why this large amount of military spending is necessary. Others who oppose large military spending can adversely ujse this graph to show what an atrocious amount of money the nation is currently spending. A good title for this graph would be "a violent growth of funding in America".
@Madison S.
You bring up some interesting points in regards to how graphical displays can be used to support a position. For the term “insignificant”, what statistics could we use to determine what determines significance vs. insignificance? Should we use just the amount spent or some other factors? Be sure to share your thoughts.
@Moderator Heather the amount spent should not not be the only determining factor for significance, and yet it is the only type of information provided in this graph. The amount spent appears to correlate to the importance of the nation, as those nations who do not allocate significant funds to the military are not even listed by name. In this graph, the viewers are led to believe that money is the most important factor, while the purpose of those funds, what military needs a nation has, and many other factors should be taken into account as well. However, that's a lot of information to fir on one graph.
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, often tweets about the United States military. Although Trump's tweets span from Fake News to Hillary Clinton, and everything in between, the US military is quite prevalent as he tweets about it often. Trump uses twitter as his "bully pulpit," and informs masses about current news and does so using less than 280 characters or less. I appreciate the fact that the military is being talked about frequently, being a United States citizen.
How does this relate to the graph you must be wondering? It is evident in the graph that the United States spends a lot of money towards its military. In fact, the United States spends the most in the world, as shown in the graph. With this being said, since the United States spends so much I feel as though United States citizens have a right to be informed about the military. President Trump has taken strides to inform the citizens about the military, in an unconventional way. I appreciate the President's actions in keeping the country informed about the actions of the military.
Good morning, @Ava D. --
If you were President Trump’s tweet writer, what would you write in 280 words about the US military budget? Please share this with us.
@Moderator Sharon
Hi Sharon! It would be my honor to try and do President Trump justice...
The United States of America is the strongest country in the world! In order to keep remain the strongest, this is why it is necessary to spend so much money on the military. Without this spending, we would not be the country that we are today !!
@Ava D.
Well Hello Ava. Do you have Donald Trumps post notifications on twitter one? My other question to you based on this graph is what do you think the spending of the other countries implies about their military?
1. Considering how the United States prides itself on it’s abundance of freedom and liberty, it was no surprise that the U.S. sends a massive amount of their budget on ensuring a powerful and very capable military force; however, it is surprising to see that even seven of the world’s top spenders on military do not compare to what the U.S spends on their military.
2. The graph is able to clearly illustrate where countries have their priorities. Other countries such as Finland, focus their energy on education and thus have the most successful educational system in world. In contrast, according to the graph, the U.S. concerns itself with first protecting it’s citizens and thus will stop at little to nothing to ensure the best protection that they can provide, justifying the massive spending on military.
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@Isaiah H
Thank you for your comments. One possible thing to consider is the relative spending within each country. How does the US spending on military compare to its overall spending? Be sure to share a catchy headline for this graph.
I notice how the other 7 countries together almost makes up the same amount of money that the United States spends on their military. I wonder why it will keep increasing.
@Leo are you referring to America's never-ending growth of military spending? If so, I am also dumbfounded as to why it continues to increase. Another question which I would like to pose to you is if you think there will ever be a reasonable way for America to scale back its spending? Or is large military spending too intertwined with what it currently means to be an American?
How come Japan has low military spending? Is it because they aren't targeted as much and are not in need of it?
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I wonder the same thing, I also notice united states has the biggest circle out of all of there. I wonder why. @K
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@K
I was wondering the same thing. If the lower spending means they don't have the resources to spend? Or if they don't need to use the resources because they aren't targeted?
@D I think this is because the American government puts a great emphasis on military and having strong forces.
In this graph we are able to see the spendings on the countries military to protect their countries and fight outside.
@Bryan Gutierrez Do you think that it is necessary for the United States to spend so much money on the military? Should we be spending this much money, or should we spend it on other things such as health care and education? Why or why not?
This graph displays the military spending budgets of different countries. America by far is the top miliary spending country. I was suprised that no other coutry is near the miliary budget of the U.S. This graph displays how important and how much of a priority the miliarty is for each country based on the budget. I wonder why the U.S. is so far ahead? Is it to show dominance? is there a needed for a lot of protection? A title for this graph could be : What country spends the most?
@Grace B
To respond to your question, the U.S. has the most money spend because they have the more problems than other countries.
@Bryan Gutierrez why do you think that America has the most problems and do you think America has the best military?
@Bryan Gutierrez
I agree with you because it's true that the US wastes a lot of money on the military to supposedly keep us safe, yet there is major problems inside of the US that seem to be bigger than whats going outside in the real world.
This graph illustrates the military spending of each country in 2015. The United States clearly is the biggest spender of all of the countries presented with a spending of $596 billion, with a proposed increase of $54 billion. China follows with a spending of $215 billion, then Saudi Arabia with $87 billion. The designer of this graph used a creative tactic of dedicating the largest circles to the countries that spend the most. This allows the viewer to identify these countries more efficiently. Personally, I feel that this graph can spark a debate among Americans. Should this much money be spent on the military? Clearly, our country faces many problems: lack of jobs, homelessness, hunger, etc. Should more money be dedicated to solving these issues, rather than spending an absurd amount on the military alone?
Good morning, @Mia D. --
You mention how the graph is designed.
Notice the sizes of the “bubbles.” (This is called a bubble map made of circles arranged as a map.) Do the areas have meaning?
Notice the location of the bubbles. Do the locations have meaning?
Now, please share with us more of your insights.
@Mia D. Hey Mia! Since you, yourself, are a United States citizen, how do you feel about the United States military spending? Do you feel that this spending is adequate?
When I think of military spending, I recall how many politicians have taken a firm stance on the Department of Defense or Homeland Security. Some run on the idea that there needs to be more financial support for the military, for defense is one of the main roles of a government. Others argue that military spending is not only incessant, but also unnecessary. I notice in this graph that the United States- in 2015- has spent $596 billion, while the next seven countries on the graph have only spent $567 billion altogether. To top it off, the rest of the world- in its entirety- only spent $514 billion. I wonder if pro-military spending politicians see this graph and think of patriotism in a positive context. Likewise, I wonder if anti-military spending politicians see this graph and think of nationalism, in a negative context. A catchy headline one might claim for this graph could be, "#1 in Military Spending- with More Proposed Increases to Come".
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1. I wonder why the United states is at 596 billion plus 54 billion increase when there are people out there that still complain that the military not getting enough money or supplies. Clearly with the graph given it shows and states that we give more to them compared to what other countries give to there military. So I don't understand why people still criticize us, by saying we doing help our military when they literally having billions plus more coming in.
2. I wonder why China has more money than the other countries on it's side rather than less. And I question this because China is always manufacturing things so it basically means there always spending to get the things they need. So where is this money coming from?
Hi @Arianna! I agree with your position under your point 1., but how do you suggest scaling back on military spending? Once money is allotted to people, it is often difficult to take it back out. At this point, do you think the government would be able to find a way to still function at its full capacity with less funding? On your point about China, its economy is still booming because of all of the manufacturing it does, and thus the country is one of the world's most profitable. Therefore there is a large amount of money which is available for taxation, and therefore military spending.
In this graph it is almost impossible not to notice the fact that America has spent so much more than every other country. I wonder why America has spent so much more on military affairs, considering all the countries are engaging in war and not just the United States. A good title for this graph would be "The Great Expense of American Military." It really shows the morals of America and the great importance it places on its military affairs. I am interested to see which aspects of the military the U.S. is spending money in in times of war and in times of peace.
@Kaitlyn G Are you surprised that Saudia Arabia's military spending is so much less than America's, considering they are also at war?
@Kaitlyn G You present a good point. Every country engages in war, so why does America spend significantly more? Do you think that we should be spending this much? More so, do you think that we as a country would still find military success if we spent less?
@Olivia C Yes, this is very interesting to me, and I wonder what we are spending so much more money on.
this graph can really give you an idea and how America thinks about other countries and their own. If you were to search up government spending for the U.S. in total it shows that military far proceeds any other type of spending. That is including food and other supplies. Instead of America trying to scare these countries by spending this much money they should be trying to create healthy relationships with them so no conflicts happen in the future.
Good morning, @Angel.P --
Can you think of examples when “trying to create healthy relationships with them so no conflicts happen in the future” achieved this objective? Where do you see any evidence of this strategy in the graph?
What I find surprising in this graph is how big America's spending on military compared to other countries. It makes me think is it really worth the money when no other country is even close to your own spending. Are we just wasting resources at this point that could be used to solve hunger or other world problems?
@Angel.P Hello, Angel.P. The Constitution has three main functions. First, it creates a national government divided into three sections: legislative, judicial, and executive. Then, it divides the power into a system of federalism between the states and federal government. Finally, it protects various individual liberties of an American citizen, among them being "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Does the military not protect citizens from intrusion and harm? Is this inherently "wasteful"?
@Angel.P This is something that I thought about also. Homelessness and hunger is such a prevalent issue in our country. Why doesn't the government spend less on the military and more on addressing these issues?
We have many, many responses to today's graph. In one hour of moderation, there have been more responses than any other graph released to date. Why do you think there are so many responses?
Did you notice how the "bubbles" in the bubble map are located in relationship to each other? What could this mean?
After you have noticed and wondered, how about a catchy headline that captures the main idea of the graph? We'll publish a few headlines in tomorrow's Reveal.
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@Moderator Sharon
My classes joined after The Learning Network's webinar.
@Moderator Sharon I think this is so popular because Military spending, in the US at least, is a hot topic issue in our culture.
@Moderator Sharon
The bubbles in the map are somewhat shaped like the United States, with the lesser amounts representing the smaller states, and the huge amount of money spent on for the U.S. is in the shape of Alaska, the largest state in America.
I noticed that the United States in their proposition have the highest amount of spending in their military. I'm curious to see how it is that this increase will be put to use. Since the budget is being taken away from other departments like education and health. I wonder why the United States is so inclined to invest so much money in military spending than other countries? It doesn't seem like they'd pose much of a threat for the United States to spend so much on the military. Headline: How important is the military to you?
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Good morning, @Ricky --
Check out tomorrow's reveal when we give you the link to the New York Times article that had this graph and others. There, they will explain how the money could be spent. Please realize that a proposed budget is not an appropriated budget. There can be a BIG difference.
I noticed that the US has spent $596 billion during 2015 on military expenses. Other countries' expenses add up to $514 billion which is less than that the United States spent in 2015. I wonder why does the US spend more money than other countries. It is understandable that they want to be prepared in case of any threat but spending more money than the entire world on Military expenses is just crazy.
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Good morning, @Carlos --
You wonder why does the US spend more money than other countries. There are more reasons than fighting wars. What other purposes could military spending have? Check out tomorrow's reveal when we give you the link to the New York Times article that had this graph and others. There, other purposes are discussed.
@Carlos i understand what you saying, it is reasonable.
the united states do what they think is best for them.
@Carlos Why do the US spend so much money on military??
I think it is ironic how US tries to decrease tension with countries like South Korea while it is the one that spends billions of dollars in the military. I mean, what's the point? If you're looking for peace and stability, why do you spend all that money on something you're not supposed to need? Why don't you spend that money on something better, like education or something?
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Good morning, @Estrella Seda --
In response to your question, "If you're looking for peace and stability, why do you spend all that money on something you're not supposed to need?" I think of President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy of 1901: "Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far."
Do you think this strategy is appropriate today?
@Estrella Seda
You have mad a great point, i strongly agree that if more peace is be recognized, more health care and education wise would increase
I notice that the US has the most military spending then the rest of the world.I wonder what is the point of spending this large amount of money when we can spend it on other things such as health care and education. I also wonder if this goes towards military veterans. a catch title for this graph should be "US vs the World on military spending"
@Cesar Maybe America wants to intimidate the other countries and show superiority.
1. Due to the United States being a first world country and its involvement in the rest of the world, I assume that the USA must have a need for spending more than other nations in order to cover all of their military expeditions such as ones in the middle east.
2. I wonder what specific thing in the military might be the leading cause for spending; whether its the salary of each soldier or weapons and munitions.
I noticed that United State expend more money in the military because it is one of the biggest and rich country in the world. So the president just want to protect the people and everything they have made it in all this past years.
I wonder that Russia is the biggest country in the world and that's why is difficult for them to have a military that protect every single part of the country.
@Maireni Yea but don't you think it makes more sense to spend money and food and education then mostly all the money on the military.
@Maireni I agree with you and maybe Russia uses the money for other thing. Although I believe that safety extremely important.
@Maireni I do agree with you on the U.S wanting to protects its people but I do also believe that more money should be spend on healthcare, Department of education and Department of Sanitation.
What's up with Australia?
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Good morning, @Matthew --
What makes you ask “What's up with Australia?”
(Also, you may want to share with us what you know about Australia since it is not even labeled on the graph.)
Welcome to Wednesday's moderation of “What’s Going On in This Graph?”
Today’s graph compares the military budgets for countries around the world. I wonder if America’s military is big enough.
. From 9 am – 2 pm E.T. today, give us your responses online to these three questions -- "What do you notice?", "What do you wonder?", and "What's going on in this graph?"
Plus, please share with us
a catchy headline that captures the ideas about the graph.
On Thursday afternoon, we’ll reveal the article that included this graph and much more. We look forward to reading your discoveries.
(There will be no graph release next week – Presidents’ Week. The next “What’s Going On in This Graph?” will be released next week on Thursday, Feb. 21 with moderation on Wednesday, Feb. 27.)
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1. The way the United States funds their military, to have the best Air Force, and Naval Force, makes me wonder why countries like Russia, and China do not spend more to compete with America, as they would be at a slight disadvantage, because of how the United States has more strength. The way the United States, uses their money creates a safer society for the citizens of America, as the military is defending their freedom, peace and justice.
2. The United States having an expendable military force, allows them to have control of places that they normally would not have, like places in Japan, Australia, and parts of Europe. The United States are able to do this, mainly because they have spent so much money on their forces. Since the United States has some control of places out of their reach, it allows for safety, for the citizens of the United States, as they know that their military is able to protect them. Because of the money that the United States put into their military, it shows that the United States, is a country that really means business.
Good morning, @Robert Ramos --
Thank you for your summary on the U.S. military.
The graph shows both comparative budget amounts and geographic location. This should give you support. Then, please share with us a catchy headline that captures the graph’s main ideas.
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for the world I wonder what there budgeting is like because all we have is 514 for the rest of the world but how does that break down?
1. I notice that the United States has an outlandishly large budget for their military. America has many important issues such as poverty, and with this budget I believe that there should be no homeless veterans.
2. I wonder why Russia does not have a larger budget considering they a large country; therefore, they must have a large army. Shouldn't there be funds to cover the military families? Or even to cover their living expenses?
Good morning, @Christa --
You bring up a very important point. If the U.S. is spending much on the military, then the U. S. is not funding other national priorities. From the graph, can you see other countries that rank military spending lower? How about a headline that captures your thoughts?
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I agree that the astoundingly big military budget would be better spent in efforts to reduce issues within the nation itself such as the aforementioned poverty and other things such as healthcare.
1. What interests me about this graph is how much the U.S. spends is just substantially more and the fact that it's even increasing currently is surprising. I am curious to know why they have such a higher spending given we have not done many war related moves in the world. Most of the time countries provide more money to their military if they are in a war or preparing for war so knowing that the U.S. is consistently spending increases leads me to believe there is a larger concern that the American people should be worried about. This amount of spending could be spent on more important departments of the government in America like education or agriculture and even employment programs.
2. Another thing that interests me is how this money is being used specifically in the countries who spend the most like the U.S., China, and Saudi Arabia. Is the money going towards resources like more artillery or is it the technological advancements that people are creating so they can be more powerful military wise. I also question if the U.S. has specific investments that we have had to increase spending so much in so little time. There is no reason to fix something that isn't broken or in this case spend money on useless things.
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1. The U.S spends a ridiculous amount on the military compared to every other country. Where exactly in the military does this money go to? It’s unfortunate American citizens are not aware of where all their tax money goes to. Does the U.S spend an excessive amount of money on the military all for show, or does the government truly think we need it? I don’t believe we need 596 billion dollars to protect the country if there’s about 327 million civilians. As far as I know, there isn’t a looming threat of war upon the country, so maybe the U.S is trying to establish global dominance.
2. Why can’t part of the military fund go towards addressing poverty instead? The nation is under a serious debt, and because the proposed increase is 54 billion dollars, the national debt will increase. The U.S is obsessed with excellence, and I wonder if global excellency is the true motive instead of actually protecting the country. There has to be a better solution on the spending of the U.S military as we already have the largest military in the world. The government should direct the tax funds to necessities such as social welfare and saving the environment instead.
Good morning, @Karen Hernandez --
Though there are few statistics in the graph that backup your claims, you will find some from the source of the graph Stockholm International Peace Research Institute website. There you can see military spending per capita, as well as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product and government spending. Report back to us on what you noticed from these statistics.
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The fist thing that people most likely noticed would be how the U.S. spends significantly more than the China which is ranked 2nd. America spends so much money on our military when we're already paying more than twice as much then China. We direct that much money but not toward education or things that could be more beneficial to the public.
Good morning, @Daniel Ramirez --
You noticed the difference in military spending between the top two military budgets – U.S. and China.
What else do you notice when comparing military budgets?
Check out not only the bubble map but also the chart below it.
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1.In this graph it allows me to realize how ridicule and over the top the United States are when it comes to defenses and safety. I believe this because it is an exaggerated amount of money that they waste on just defenses.
2.This chart makes me wonder if the unites states would be further advanced technological if their money wasn't all spent on safety and actually put into something more resourceful such as the economic system.
@John
That money isn't wasted its put into possible real threats that could happen if it wasn't for our defense budget. The TSA and Homeland Security exist because of our high defense budget and they exist to prevent national tragedies like 9/11
1. The United States is the country with the largest defense budget in the world. The size of the budget is intended to develop new technologies and improve military forces to ensure the safety of the American people. Ironically, what the United States calls the "defense budget," is actually the "offense budget," because the United States uses its military power to create conflicts and meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign nations.
2. Countries with higher military spending are the countries with more developed economies. I believe that as a country's economy grows and social problems are reduced, citizens begin to think more about their own security in a world that is in constant conflict. As a result, military spending begins to rise.
Good morning, @Gerardo Jasso --
You say, “Countries with higher military spending are the countries with more developed economies.” Would you please share with us some examples from both more developed and less developed countries? Do you see any exceptions from the graph? How about a headline?
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1. The United States spending millions on the military demonstrates how society today prefers to invest on stuff that are less beneficial then spending on stuff such as education or the construction of new roads.
2. This also demonstrates how the government continues to make poor decisions and how that money could be used to pay some of the huge debt that we owe.
I agree with the point you make on how spending such a large sum on just military alone rather than use it to help the people of its nation rather than lead expeditions in others.
1. I wonder why the U.S. is so inclined to spend so much money towards the military when it would be far better for the U.S. even just to use half the amount of money towards education, infrastructure, or basic welfare of its citizens.
2. I am curious to see how the welfare and education of citizens in other countries that spend less on their military compare to ours. I would imagine that some of the countries would beat us on that as they would focus more of their resources on more important issues.
@Abel
Yes! I totally agree with you. Coming from somebody that lives in New York , I can definitely see how a little bit of money can help out the community and all those homeless out here too!!
Good morning, @Abel --
You can find an answer to your wonder about countries that spend less on their military and more on welfare and education, in part, in the source listed below the bubble map. There you will find the percentage military spending is to total government expenditures.
Take a look and report back to us.
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One thing i noticed is that even though America already beats the country that uses the second most money on the military; the U.S still proposes an increase in our military. Why do we not put the money to paying off the national debt. Why does america continue to use money on unnecessary things.
@Daniel Ramirez Great observation! In what other ways do you propose we spend our money?
1) Military spending should be considered not only for the security of a nation but mainly for the safety of a country's citizens. If America finds it entirely necessary to spend $596 billion dollars and their intentions are solely placed on the well-being of their citizens, then they are committing no crime. However, if a country like China is pouring out its money on military spending because they want to show off their army and their weaponry then they are not serving its citizens fairly. Military spending is not a light subject because it may cause a larger amount of fatalities and catastrophes when taken without precaution versus when a country is leading its citizens to their deaths.
2) I appreciate that much larger populated countries like India and Russia are not focused strictly on military spending because they spend far less than the United States. However, they should not follow in America's footsteps because then they too will be lost in a patriotic fantasy with the citizens in the military losing their lives, citizens scared for their own safety, and leaders carelessly observing. The overall lesson for these countries is to make enough time to discuss a military budget and a strategy that will work effectively and not take away the lives of citizens that believe they are in the military to save their country. Yes, people in the military know that they have a high chance of dying or gaining an injury but it shouldn't happen time after time, trial after trial.
What I noticed about this graph is that the United States spends a lot more money on the military than other countries like Russia, Britain and France because the US wants to have a stronger and better military. The United States spends $596 billion when other countries like Britain is spending $55 billion and Russia spending $66 billion.
1. Compared to other nations of the world the U.S. spends the most amount of money on its military. What's very unusual is that the U.S is spending more money than the rest of the superpowers of the world combined. The U.S does not need to spend any more money on the military yet they still are which could be worrying.
2. I wonder if the different budgets have to do with the industrialization of each specific nation which could explain why the U.S has the biggest budget.
**Why is it that the U.S. can spend at least $596 billion on War supplies, but can't provide food, shelter, or even clothing to those in need? They can use taxpayer money to buy weapons for a war so far away, but don't want to risk sharing some of it with children who can't be provided the right kind of education.
**I don't understand why Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, India, Japan, China, and Russia, being allies, don't have anything close to a similar budget as the U.S. Wouldn't they all need to work together to succeed as a team?
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1. I think its crazy how the U.S. has managed to spend merely the same amount of money on their military as 7 other relatively large countries. Just like the other countries, we strive to have the best protection but why couldn't we spend less money on the military and incorporate it to bettering us as a country.
2. I wonder if the U.S. has put all this money towards their military to show dominance over other countries and live up to its title of being the country where freedom and opportunity is presented with protecton to pursue it.
I wonder why the United States spends so much money on the military than using that money on welfare, roads, education, health, poverty, etc. that could help our country and states be a better place to live in. I also wonder if the billion of dollars are giving the troops better weapons. Is this preparing them for something that could happen, for example like war?
@Ivette Why else do you think we spend so much on the military, even if we are not in war?
1. I noticed that the united states remain a superpower even after the second world war, having a strong investment in its military force. Even showing the strong amount of money invested into the nations military shows security in its nation, making the united states a strongly devoted country to keep up its stance out to the world.
2. I wonder if the countries that are included on the graph are fighting their way up to show their dominance in their military force, similarly to the space race that took place in the late 1950s between the Soviets and the US (but this was to show their dominance in spaceflight capability). while in this case, this "race" is to demonstrate their military force dominance
1. I wonder when the bar graph says "rest of the world" does that mean the other countries that aren't listed ? If so how come the United States still has more than all of the rest of the countries combined.
2. I'm curious about what all the U.S's money is spent on because if it's super important then why doesn't the rest of the world get an equal amount of money to spend.
Good morning, @Isabelle Lopez --
Come back tomorrow when we will release the link to the New York Times article that included these and several other graphs. There, you will see what the military budget is spent on.
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1) Its absurd that the United States spends more money on the military than a combined amount of money from 7 different countries.
2)I wonder on what the United States military spends so much money on? could be mostly for our countries defense? is it being spent on more military equipment. Its really absurd that the United States Military spends so much money, which causes the United States to increase our national debt.
1. It is ironic that the U.S spends the most on military out of all these countries because we are a country that focuses our attention on freedom, peace, justice, unity etc. So for us to spend billions and practically triple the amount compared to other countries on armed forces is completely unusual. Wars do not bring peace but bring violence and separation which is the biggest things we stand against.
2. I wonder what is it that makes our country feel that it needs to be focused on spending money on military rather than for programs such as welfare and health. Spending billions on program like those seem more like something that America would do because we pride ourselves on having equal opportunity for all.
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@Sianna Gideon I agree that U.S should spend a couple of million on bettering the countries citizen's health.
@Sianna Gideon I agree with what you commented. I never thought about it that way, but it is true. the united states tend to promote all of these good ideas but don't seem to show it by the looks of it on this graph. increasing spendings on their military is very unusual if they're trying to promote peace. should they not propose treaties with other countries in order to promote peace instead of expanding their military spendings in such a massive scale?
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@Sianna Gideon I agree with your second point as well. I tend to think to myself as to why the united states focus on "improving security" for the people by increasing spending on the militia. when in reality they should focus on poverty and other social needs if they really want to provide help for the people.
1) I wonder why America spends the most on its military. It is because the U.S. tends to be more war inclined? Is there a specific part of the military that needs extra improvement?
2) I am curious if the the countries that spend less on their military have more social welfare spending. If the money is not being put toward protection from outside, is it possible that the country is reforming domestic problems?
@JSmith I agree with you because it is possible that other countries who have smaller expenses toward their military are most likely focusing their fundings on essential and critical areas of their living style.
@JSmith Hi Mr. Smith, this is Dr. Jasso. Regarding your first commentary, I do not think the U.S. military equipment needs extra improvement. However, I do think that the U.S. tends to be more inclined to war. But, why? Well, the answer is very simple: the U.S. has unlimited wants but limited resources. Because the U.S. has limited resources, the government has to find the missing resources in other places. Here comes the big quesiton! Where?-In other countries.
@JSmith I don't believe most countries are reforming domestic problems due to less military spending. due to many smaller countries using foreign trade
1. I'm wondering, why is the US the country that is spending the most of their money on Defense if there is 1.386 Billion of people living in China and only 325.7 Million living in the US, yet China is 4.25 times bigger than the US.
2. In my opinion, the US spends billions of dollars in their Defense, which only increases the National Debt even more, because they want to be "prepared" if a war is to start. Even though they have started and participated in numerous of wars, such as the Mexican War, WWI, WWI, Cuban War, Iran, and Afghanistan, in the past and ruin a lot of countries.
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@David Hi dear fella, this is Dr. Jasso. I would like to address your second commentary. First of all, I would like to say that spending on defense not olny increases the nationa debt, but also increases the U.S. capability to respond to potential threats. Now, you mentioned that the U.S. ruined a lot of countries because of the wars they create. Well, I think that there was a reason for these wars; it might be natural resources, human labor, etc. The main point here is that we all benefit from it.
@David I agree that the United States increases the national debt due to military speeding being so high
Good morning, @David --
You’re talking about per capita spending – spending per person in the population.
Go to the source of this graph (listed below the chart) and you will find per capita military spending for most countries in the world.
Which countries spend the most per capita? The least per capita? Any surprises?
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If the budget increase is really necessary, what are we spending on that’s making the $596 billion we're already spending "not enough"? If national defense is defined as something as shallow as a numbers game, then theoretically having a budget that large should be safe. No country can match it, unless what we’re spending that money on is objectively less functional than what other countries are spending their smaller budgets on. Maybe we should consider restructuring the allocation of money rather than dumping more into it.
1. I wonder if the reason why or society spends this much money on the military is to provide the soldiers with better weapons, food, and shelter due to the harsh conditions that they are forced to go through out there.
2. I noticed that the other seven country's that are been compared, some of them aren't as industrialized as the united states and might not have that much money to just spend on the military.
@Chinelo I agree with what you're wondering about but I believe that the other countries should get the same amount of money to spend on food and weapons as well as the U.S.
@Chinelo
The fact that they are not industrialized doesn't really mean that they won't have enough money to spend because they might have money coming in from other things.
1. What i noticed about this graph is that the money spent on military for the U.S is more than the other countries combined. The counties with more spending money are also the countries mostly known for fighting in big wars and loaning other countries money.
2. I wonder why the smaller countries have a smaller budget, but they have a stronger military base than the higher budget countries.
@Chloe
**Maybe, being a smaller country means they don't have to worry about wars with other countries as often considering they aren't recognized as much as larger countries. Being a larger country, more protection may be needed hence the higher budget.
1) I wonder if the money we spend on military is to pay for all the soldiers work on Bases around the world also is it for all the soldiers who are given benefits for serving in specific war and troops?
2) I also noticed that all other countries might not have the best living conditions as our soldiers in our countries have and often are forced into the service and aren't given the options to serve or not to serve
@Emily.C
The reason that the budget of the other countries are low are not because they have poor living conditions, but because their population is lower.
I understand that most of the countries have smaller population, but China has way more people and a military of 2 million personnel yet we still almost triple their spending.
1- I notice that the the countries with the bigger military expenses are the ones that are usually are in our history books fighting in wars and battles. I also notice that countries with the highest military expenses (United States and China) produce products that sale world wide, and tend to be the ones to have the bigger about of money to put in their military.
2- I am curious to know if the big military expenses has to do with being countries with natural resources that are useful to everyone around thee world.
@juli sandoval
I agree with your first comment. It does seem that the countries that are more industrialized have more money to spend on there military troops as opposed to the other smaller countries that are less industrialized.
@juli sandoval
I agree with your first comment. It does seem that the countries that are more industrialized have more money to spend on there military troops as opposed to the other smaller countries that are less industrialized. This might also be due to the fact the U.S has more people in its country than the other states.
@juli sandoval I agree with your first comment. The U.S has been involved in many wars throughout history. I wonder if that's more than just a coincidence.
1. One thing that instantly pops to my attention is how the U.S is boldly spending most of the rest of the countries listed. The U.S is spending so much money on the military when it can be spent elsewhere. Why would the U.S military have so much to spend if there are no threats being made against us and no wars are being caused? We have proved in the past how strong our military is and proved to the world how strong and capable our military is.
2. There is no question as to which country is spending the most on their military. Spending this big money on just the military when there are other areas in the U.S struggling with money issues that they may need from the government when many soldiers aren't fighting.
@Lenea.G I definite y wonder that too. I believe it is because we might feel threatened because of our "lenient" tendencies compared to other countries.
@Lenea.G I agree with you because the United States has no true or valid reason to support their consistent spending toward their military. There are neither threats or war that demands such supply, which makes one wonder what is their purpose of spending so much on such.
@Lenea.G
In response to your second comment, the money that the United States is spending on the military, is to provide safety to them, as some of them may not be fighting wars, they are always prepared if terrorist were to attack, one of the main reasons the government is spending this amount of money on military forces, is so that they are prepared in case of an event like 9/11, or any other forms of terrorist activity.
Among the top eight countries that fund a large amount of money into their military, half are not considered to be first world countries. China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and India all continue to contribute to their lines of defense despite not having the classification of a first world country. Why is that? Is this an attempt to make an impression of strength? Are other critical areas of their home lacking or balanced enough for them to do such? The common ground between these top-ranking countries is the level of threats they feel are being proposed to them. Rather than using their money to steady what is weakened in their economy, they feel as though defense is a better option than a country who could be better educated and technologically advanced. I believe a catchy title for this graph could be: 'Military Spending, the Window to a Country's Soul' because their expenses speak for the beliefs a country might have.
@giu.adad I agree that the countries may use money to strengthen their reputation instead of their domestic problems of low education and technological advancement. In the long run, would this way of spending just contribute to a country’s downfall? When the acquiring of knowledge or improvement in general is stagnant, the possibility of failure is higher. If a country wants to do well or improve, they should focus more on inner problems and reform first.
Another thing that i noticed about the graph is that even the other countries are much larger than the U.S. and they still consists on spending less. The U.S. is so focused on spending money on things we don't need then opposed to things that we do need.
@Raelene O.
I agree with this comment because the U.S can most certainly be investing this money into other important things. not saying that our military isn't important but that much money just being spent on the U.S. military is ridiculous.
@Raelene O.
I agree with this comment because the U.S can most certainly be investing this money into other important things. not saying that our military isn't important but that much money being spent on the U.S. military is ridiculous. The money can be invested into better roads, helping out the poor and even providing jobs in those in need of jobs.
@Raelene O. I agree with you Raelene because I believe spending $596 billion on the military is unnecessary because that money can be used for more important things like building better roads or better education. With the use of that money, it would be more beneficial to the Americans than the military troops
1. Because the graph is from 2015, it makes me wonder that if the United States spent that amount of money four years ago, then the amount that they spend today is most likely very close to reaching a trillion dollars. Furthermore, if this much money is going towards the military, then how come the United States is not putting so much effort into providing money to fix roads, public education, health care benefits, and poverty? All of these issues are more or just as important than the military, so how come there is rarely nothing being done to fix them?
2. When looking at the seven following countries that are shown on the graph, they all add up to $567. Because the majority of these countries help their citizens by providing them with the help and the programs that they need, could it be that they do not need to spend that much money on their military because they have them covered with everything that they need to survive? For example, in the United States, the military pays for their soldiers college tuition, which could be a reason why they need that amount of money. However, in France, they give their citizens free college tuition, which could be a possibility to why they do not need to have as much of a budget compared to the United States.
@Edith Cervantes
I agree with your first comment because there are so many other important issues in the word that the money could be used for. While the military is an important part of our nation, there are other issues that pertain specifically to the citizens, and not just other countries.
@Edith Cervantes I looked into the current US military budget and saw it had come up to "$617 billion for the base budget" plus another "$69 billion for war funding" Clearly, the budget proposal has passed through since then.
@Edith Cervantes
I agree with your first comment that there are more pressing issues at hand then just our military. The U.S Infrastructure should be taken more seriously if that much money is being spent on our military.
1. The disparity between the United States military spending in comparison to its neighbours raises the question "Has Military Spending gone too far?" The US military is an already respected world superpower, yet the government is proposing to increase this budget by 54 billion USD. American citizens tax money is being spent somewhere that isn't exactly necessary and should be invested elsewhere, such as education.
2. However, with the responsibilities and liabilities of the US, one can also wonder "Is it enough?" The United States not only protects its own citizens, but also Australia, South America, and parts of Europe. In an age wavering on the edge between peace and destruction through terroristic attacks and catastrophic threats, perhaps it's best that one "democratic" nation yielded extreme power, able to establish a Big Stick Policy like Teddy Roosevelt. No nation will stand against a monstrous superpower, so with the imminent danger of starting a war, peace can be maintained.
@Tyler W
In response to your second comment, I don't believe it is necessary to hold this high of a status to maintain that "Big Stick" or world superpower status. If every other nation doubled or even tripled their spending simultaneously, not one individual nation would have as much money put into military as we do. Nobody stands a chance even where we are now, assuming that money is being used correctly.
1) The budget of the Military in the United States is most likely caused by the altercations we had with other countries. Specifically, the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Cold War had scared many Americans into the mindsets of "you can never be too powerful." This led to the United States military budget today.
2) The amount of money the U.S. spends on the military budget led to significant advantages. One of these advantages include being able to be self sufficient and well protected in within every state. This means every state would be able to function properly throughout several different disaster/war scenarios.
@E. Aguilera
To add on to your second comment, it also benefits their families. Several military programs support military families and help pay for their success even after they're done. Veterans can get college discounts, and get financial help during their lives.
@Tara F. I did not think of this. I also believe it might have something to do with the military personnel's that are over in other countries to provide for their resources like food, water, clothing, etc.
1. I noticed that maybe the United States pays so much money on their military because they are always trying to help or participate in wars around the world. This means that they would also have to spend additional fees such as travel and living.
2. The United States could also spend so much money on their military because so many Americans want to join. Several students join the military straight out of high school and use the military benefits to help pay for college later on. Having so many participants means that there will be more costs to support their families, and to give them daily essentials.
@Tara F. I agree with your comment on the large number of individuals who want to join the military. I also believe the number is high because of all the participants in need of support, but this also raises the question as to why there are so many homeless veterans?
@Tara F. If the US focused solely on itself, would the amount spent be less? Do you think the country would see it as more funds to improve its own military and things related to that?
The United States is spending a massive about of money when the government should be trying to pay off debts and loans. Could the reason for the large amount of spending be because the U.S. feels treated by other countries that are known for being more advanced are spending less money but are getting better weapons and better military tactics. Is the U.S trying to prepare themselves for the worst since they are very much unaware of what could happen and when an attack could occur. The spending of large amounts is really unnecessary if they took the time to focused on building up the technology and the use of the materials a viable instead of how many weapons they can get then the U.S. might be doing better both in war/battles and financially with the roughly 21.8 trillion dollars owned in debt. The government could also use that money for things like the national cancer society for example or programs that need the money and the attention so that they might be able to help and save lives.
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@CameronM I agree with your statement when you said that the government should use that money to help people, etc. I believe that the United States spending this much money will make them be more in debt.
1. The United States military budget is the most out of any country by far and this could be because of its involvement in all of the issues that include any member of NATO. The U.S. is the first to jump at any particular issue that needs some sort of military action and since that has been the case since the 1940's all of the allied countries in NATO look to the U.S. every time something comes up.
2. The budget of the entire nations spending can usually be ignored because most of the states do not rely on the federal government for the funds required to pay for different projects in the communities of those states. The states run their own governments and have their own tax regiments so the debt of the nation does not affect the functionality of the states themselves. The design of the United States government itself is almost genius. For a majority of the time the central government does not have any part in the way that the states run themselves as some of the states are self sufficient and could even become their own successful country is removed from the United States. 4 prime examples of this are California, Texas, New York, and Florida. These states all have the necessary resources to live on their own and the budget that the central government sets for the military does not affect any of these 4 states in the slightest.
3. One last thing that I wonder about is how Japan has such a high spending when they had their standing army removed after World War 2.
Good morning, @Er.Ab --
Thank you for your insights. Regarding your second point, look into how much funding states get from the federal government. They may or may not have a say on how they spend this money, but it is a considerable part of their expenditures.
Interesting notice about Japan. What do they spend their military budget on? Maybe the restrictions change priorities.
How about a headline that captures your main ideas?
@Er.Ab
I agree with your 1st comment about the United states and how the country is involved with NATO and that's why there is so much money going towards them. But then think about it, do you actually think they need the money? I'm pretty sure they dont need all that money.
1. I notice that the U.S. spends more money on its military than other countries with larger populations do, so I don't see how population could play a role in how much money should go to the country's military. If a country like China, which is much more densely populated than the U.S., can support their military with at least $215 billion, then adding to the $596 billion already spent is just excessive.
2. I wonder if any proposals as to what else the $54 billion should be spent on will be taken into consideration. Instead of adding to the money spent on the country's military, the money can be used to help shelter the homeless during the harsh winters.
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@R. Chacha
**I believe popularity played somewhat of a role; the money used to buy military supplies and pay for military expenses came from all of the citizens in the country. Smaller countries has less money (due to the smaller amount of people) creating the smaller budget. Larger countries had more money (due to the larger population) creating a much larger budget.
-I wonder why maintaining a strong military is more important to the Untied States than feeding the homeless, educational funding, and paying off their debt to other countries. I don't believe it is necessary to spend so much money, especially if the U.S has not gone to war in decades.
- The United States might have the "strongest" military, but that only highlights the other areas in which they are weak in and create more problems for the citizens, such as immigration, poverty, and education.
@Sara Alvarado
I agree that it isn't necessary for the military to be spending this big money on the military if other people in the U.S are in need of that money
I noticed how the United states spends a lot more money than other countries but how is that if the other countries produce a massive production of these weapons? How is it that even combining the countries still and the united states still consists on spending more?
@Raelene O
The countries that are making these weapons that are the same as ours, might not make mass productions of them, or have fully ready to charge equipment.
Although $596 billion is a lot of money to spend on our military, our nation reigns supreme compared to other countries. Perhaps it is beneficial for our country to spend a lot on the military to protect our citizens.
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@Emily Pereira
This makes sense because if our military is the strongest and is seen as a threat, there will be more countries intimidated by our military. This would better protect our citizens as other countries wouldn't want to put their citizens at risk by fighting the U.S.
I noticed that the United States faithfully spend all the money they earn and receive for the military. although in my opinion i don't think the military needs THAT much money. i feel like the US is over spending and a lot of the money could be beneficial elsewhere.
I'm curious on if the United States is even aware about the fact that they are the highest spending country for the military? if they are aware of this fact, and if its a bad thing to be spending this much money, then why don't they do something to fix it?
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@Ka.Haymond
I agree with this statement. I also believe that there are other issues that must be resolved like, poverty and health care.
This graph makes me think whether our government cares about people living in their country. Would it hurt them to cut back on spending a couple billion on our military and more on the homeless, or education?
@Emily Pereira
Wouldn't you say they are caring for the people living in their country? Would be cool if they shared it with the poor, but i believe that they are just getting prepared and want to be prepared for a war if it were to happen.
@Emily Pereira
I agree with your thoughts because our country already has a budget 11 times bigger than that of other countries which means we have the extra money to spend on the citizens that need support.
This graph shows how much unnecessary the United States spends and other countries like Britain and France spend way less. This explains a lot about the deficit in the country and why it is hard for America to break the poverty line.
@Nyela R
I understand what you're saying on how U.S. spends so much money "unnecessarily," but if war was to break out and the military keeps everyone safe and unharmed would it be unnecessarily after all? We may see it as a waste of money know because it is not being shown much, but it once that it is being shown and a big war is to be sprout, we will see that all the money was worth it.
@Nyela R I like how you mention the poverty situation and it also explains why the United States is so extremely in debt.
@Nyela R
I agree that this is in fact true, but I believe that the word unnecessary is, unnecessary, people are risking their lives for our country and I would hope that the soldiers are receiving some sort of reward for risking their lives, yes they could lower the spending, but I wouldn't say it's unnecessary.
I noticed that although the United States doesn't spend money on important things such as paying off debts and helping those in need, such as the homeless or ones who are just above the poverty line, they instead use all their finances on military matters. And since there are so many military bases around the U.S and so many people serving there, the U.S spends too much on military things. The whole world countries combined creates only half more than the U.S all together. That's heart-breaking.
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@Kennedy M. I agree with what you are saying but also maybe its because other countries are spending their money based on threats and their actual needs as opposed to the united states.
@Kennedy M.
You make very good points but do you think the reason for the unnecessary spending and so many military basses is that the government is praying for the best but preparing for the worst?
@Kennedy M. I recommend
This just goes to show how much unessicary money we spend that we could use on other things like cleaning up our streets or paying off our debt. We should still keep our military up and running but we shouldn't spend that much to where we almost spend 600 billion dollars on it.
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@Logan i totally agree with you and this exactly what i was think. the United States is so focused on spending so much money on military uses when in reality, most of that money can go to other beneficial factors.
@Logan I fully agree with what you are saying, the united states it wasting the money on things that are irrelevant, they should by the weapons based off of what we need not just all of the extra equipment. This is way other countries spend less because they are basing it off of what they need not what they want more off.
@Logan
I agree with your idea on spreading out the military fund towards other needed areas. Maybe the military funding is due to our past altercations with other countries.
What I noticed about the graph was that the Untied States is spending 596 billion dollars and and other country's like Britain were spending only 55 and France was spending 51. What I wonder is why are we spending so much on stuff that is useless for our country. I think that the country should be using their money wisely and not spend it on a wall that wont matter and spend it on helping people with natural disasters and funding education.
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@Kyle M.
I think you have some very strong points here however I would like to point out that the large military spending has been going on for a long time. It has only increased with the times because things are changing so the spending has to change in order to help the US or other countries. Also there is no real promise that the wall will be approved from congress and even built.
@Kyle M.,
I agree with what you are saying about the country spending so much money on useless items. To add on, if they simply spent the money on things that are important such as health care, fixing poverty, and giving benefits and help to those who need them, maybe the country in general would not be in debt from borrowing so much money.
@Kyle M.
I agree that the military isn't spending the money wisely and needs to spend it in other areas of need. We are not in danger of war or even at the peak of there one even being started. Which does raise the question as to why is there so much money being spent on the military?
I wonder why the American government is spending this much money on the military. These costs can be lead to anywhere, and I wonder if different presidents influenced other people. I definitely believe this is a possibility. Why are other countries spending so much less? Maybe it's based on the population. There are many factors.
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@Sophia Burt I agree that these high costs could be caused by a number of factors and even the idea that Presidents who serve in that time period could also contribute to a higher budget. Have you maybe thought about factors like specific resources they spend for the military like artillery or even how military personnel who can receive a free education while serving might actually play a part in this spending?
@Sophia Burt
I one hundred percent agree with what your saying about the United states. People need to realize maybe all the money going towards them is the president's decision. Or maybe someone influenced the president, one never knows.
@Sophia Burt I also agree with you about the U.S. military spendings. Why would the government spend this money on the military alone when it could be used for other important things.
I believe that the american government is spending way too much money on the military, Many countries have very good military's and spend a lot less money. I think that the country should use their money more wisely. They should try to cut more costs and put money toward things like education and help for disasters .
@Nate I agree that the government spends too much money on the military and it leads to unnecessary struggles that we should not have to go through.
@Nate I agree with how the United States should use their money more wisely because we placed them there so they can represent us the people and in a sense we are bulding these problems ourselves for investing in the wrong stuff.
@Nate I also believe that the U.S might be spending too much money on the military and they should definitely develop a better strategy to spend their money more wisely and maybe even cut some of the money that is being spent on
I personally believe that the American government is spending so much on the military and the worst part is we don't what. The government spending point per year has already passed 7 other countries and they hope to increase $54 billion adding to $596 billion. The government spending from 7 different countries adds up to $567 billion dollars so what one country the American government could be spending money on who knows.
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@Jeremiah It is mischievous that we are unaware of what exactly the money is being used for. We pay taxes to the government so there should be no reason why we spend over billions of dollars on the military when other countries don't spend half as much.
Good morning, @Nyela R --
Come back tomorrow afternoon to check out the Reveal when we give you the link to the New York Times article that had this graph and others. There, you will read how some of the funds are spent.
The united states are spending 596 billion, which is more money then the 7 specific countries on the graph and the rest of the world. Honestly i think they should cut down on the money because the united states also is in dept with 21 trillion dollars.
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@christopher Very true good
@christopher R. I think you bring up a very good point.
@christopher R the graph supports your facts and that is a very good observation of the graph and the economics of the American military. I support you in your statement that the United States should cut down on military spending because of the 21 trillion dollars of debt.
I noticed that the United States spends a lot more money on the government than any other country on the Military. America spends more money on the Military than the rest of the world. The graph says that the United States uses $596 Billion on the Military, the other 7 countries spend $567 Billion combined and the rest of the world spends $514 Billion on their Military. This graph is showing how much America uses on their military compared to the rest of the world. The title is "What's Going on in this Graph" but that is a lot to take in. I would call it," Is the money America spends on our military to much?"
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In this graph, I noticed that the U.S. spends the most money on their military out of everyone in the world, I also noticed that besides China, we are the only ones that are in the hundred billion range. Truthfully, I wonder where we’re getting all of this money from and if it is a smart choice to blow it all on our defenses. Some things that may be going into this graph are how much money each country spends on its military defenses and the fact that the U.S. spends the most out of all of us.”The U.S Blows Nations Away by the Billions.”
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@Dominick Arredondo I disagree with you because our military is far more advanced than in other countries. It's better to have a strong military than a weak military to protect our nation.
@Dominick Arredondo
I also raise the same question as to where we are getting all of this money from. As a society, we claim to be spending what we "don't have", yet the military has billions to blow.
@Dominick Arredondo I 100% agree with you. Great observation!
I notice that even though the United States isn't the biggest country ever, it still manages to spend more on the military than any other state combined. If you take the money all fo the other countries spend on their military and multiply it by one million, it still would be less than what the United States spends on their military.With this graph, I can only wonder what exactly they are spending the money on and is it really necessary? The graph is showing us that the United States spends way more on the military than the average amount and that the United States has out of all the countries it spends the most.
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@Brianna S
I think the whole concept of "It's better to be safe than sorry" really comes into play. Although I agree that a decent sized portion of that budget should be spent on food and housing for the people, it is also logical to prioritize the safety of the country.
@Brianna S,
I agree with the way that you explained how so much money simply is not necessary. Furthermore, it is almost as if the United States is giving the military a grant for so much money that they possibly do not even know what to do with it, so it causes them to spend money on things that are not really needed.
I notice that America spends a lot of money on it’s military compared to the rest of the world by a lot. I wonder why that much money has to be spent on the military while there are homeless people and people who don’t have food to eat. The story this graph is telling is “America Spends a lot on the Military.”
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@Brian I agree with you because although having a strong military is important, we should focus on our citizens' needs first.
@Brian I disagree with this statement because the government should not have to bail out its citizens when it already provides one of the most stable economies in the entire world due in part to its advanced military that is able to protect all of America's most important trade partners who the country need to thrive and provide the opportunities for its citizens.
Good morning, @Er.Ab and @Brian--
You bring up an important debate on how much military spending is "enough."
What statistics would you need to explain your position?
Going to the graph's source (cited below the chart), you will find statistics on the military spending by country and how it compares per capita (per person) and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product and government spending. Maybe this will support your positions. Report back to us on what you discover.
I notice about how this graph is unbalanced in its own ways. The American spending on the military is greater than the next 7 countries put together. It’s honestly jaw dropping over the fact that we have spent so much money on the military instead of other things like schools or to other programs. I wonder why we spend so much money on the military because I feel like we have already invested a lot of money into it. Why not spend it on something else? Why not save it up? Why push us further and further into debt? This graph shows how there is such a great spending in the United States compared to other countries. The rest of the world beside the next 7 countries is less than the spending than America. I would name this article “The Graph of Illusions” because it seems surreal that their are such big difference in how much each country has spent.
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I noticed that the U.S. Military spends a lot of money and they spend more than twice the amount of money than China and China's population is more than 3 times greater. The United States spends more money than the next 7 countries combined by 39 billion dollars. I am curious as to why America has to spend so much money and if they are getting necessities and taking very good care of our military or if they are spending money for unnecessary things because we have the money. I also wonder how does the military get this much money to spend per year and why are they using $596 billions dollars for the military if a country that is way bigger in population not even spend half of that amount. Also India only spends 51 billion dollars a year and the population is over 1 billion and America's population is 325 million people. And another question is if this money that we are giving to the military,is it being used the right way. " Are we giving our military too much money?"
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@Giselle V
The reason why the US in comparison to China, who has a much larger population, spends so much more on the military is because of its liabilities to protect other nations from outside threats. Not to mention that the GDP difference between the two nations is $7 Trillion (Nominal, 2015).
@Giselle V
I agree with you, China is way bigger than the united states but we do use up more money on our military then they do. I do believe we are giving our military to much money instead we should use it for something else.
Looking at this graph, I noticed that the United States is spending far more money than other developed countries such as China and Britain combined. This makes me wonder what different parts of the military this money is going to and where it's coming from, considering almost 600 billion dollars is a staggering amount. Along with that, I also wonder if all this spending is even necessary when there's so many different things this funding could be going towards. The US is the third most populous country in the world while China is the first. How can we be spending almost 3x as much as them? A good headline would be "Billions of Dollars on Warfare. Is it Worth it?"
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@Sophia A I do agree with you because there are other things that the United States should be putting all that money towards like schools.
The graph shows that the United States is using more money than any other state. They use this money for the military, the military get there stuff free because the United States is using money to buy stuff for the military. I think that the Unites States should have a system where they don’t have to keep buying and buying everything such as food, drinks, clothes, shoes, bullets, guns, and much more. So I just think that the United States should hold off on the spending because pretty soon the United States can go into debt and they can lose all of there money.
5
I noticed that the United States is spending more money on our military out of all the other countries. The United States of America spends roughly about 78 billion dollars more than the rest of the world. I wonder why America is spending more money than the rest of the world on just the military. What might be going on this graph is showing the data about how much America spends on just the military itself. The headline should be called "The Military costs a lot".
2
@Joshua i agree with your point why is the military spending so much money.
After looking at this graph, I noticed that the US spending on the military was more than 7 countries put together, and more than the rest of the world combined (minus those 7 countries). I wonder: Why does the US spend so much on the military? Is this an inherent flaw in our government system, or is this something we have developed as a people? Is this a problem with our country? The story this graph is telling is “How different would America be if we didn’t spend so much money on military?”
15
@Lulu Foyle I agree and also wonder why the US spends so much on the military.
@Lulu Foyle I agree!
I noticed that the United States is putting in more money than all the other countries in the world and that their proposed increase is $54 billion. I wonder why they spend $596 billion dollars on their military. I know that America has bases all over the world, but I don't think it cost $596 billion dollars. The story that this graph is trying to put out is showing how much the U.S really spends on its military in comparison to other countries. The title that I would give this article is "How much does the U.S spend on their Military"
6
@Emily Vu
The reason the government has spiked up to the amount it is today is because of the events of 9/11. Ever since then, military spending peaked at approximately 800 billion but was recently cut down. Yes, we do have bases and are responsible for the defence of ally countries, but it goes beyond that.
I notice that the United States spend the most amount of money on their military than any other countries in the world. I think it was just the average budgets that the U.S spend on the military. But still, compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. took approximately 1/3 of the money spent on military. I wonder why did the U.S. need a large amount of money for the military and where did they get the money from? The money could've been for preparing a war, training equipment but compares to other countries, they did not spend a lot on their military. A headline for this graph would be "The Spending for Military in the United States". And I have a question "Is the choice to spend lots of money on the military is necessary?"
4
Looking at this graph I noticed that the U.S. spends way more money than any other countries in the world. Why do we need to have such an expensive and strong military? We have allies in the UN so why don't we rely on each other instead of us fighting alone. This graph shows how much money countries spend on the military. I believe that the U.S. is currently spending too much money on our military and the fact that they want to increase the budget by so much seems preposterous.
4
I notice in the graph that the United Sates is the one that spends the most money on military than the other countries because since the United States is big with a populations with people. They payed $596 on the military with other countries paying about 567 billion dollars and the world paying about $514 billion dollars. I wonder why the United States spends so more money than the others for the military. They probably spend the most because there's a lot of people who live here which means they if they have a good amount of money, they think it's good to spend it on the military. The story this graph is telling is basically how much the United States spends more on the military than any other country around the world. The catchy headline in this includes, "Is the United States really the one who spends the most on the military than any other country?".
1
In this graph I notice that the United States spends more on the military than every country in the world combined excluding Britain, France, Russia, India, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. I wonder why they spend so much, I mean I know that there are some tensions, but there is no major threat right now that would cause them to spend so much. Also in this graph you can see that the U.S. is trying to expand even more. I think that means that the United States sees something and is trying to prepare justin case. “United States spending more than 7 major countries combined, and is looking is looking to spend more.”
10
@Sam Astor, we can never be too safe. I would rather have the most expensive army rather than no army. Although, it would be nice to use that money somewhere else. Such as a school, city, or even use it to trade with different countries.
I notice is how much money each country uses for each of their military and how the U.S is bigger and how much they put into our military.. I wonder why do the united states use so much money for their military. I get they use most of the money to provide for them and all their materials they use since they can be expensive but why $596 billion and another $54 billion that are looking forward to being added. In the graph what is going on is that each country had its own rounding cost of which they spend every year on the military. At the bottom of the graph, it shows how their 7 other countries close to the amount that they spend and their other countries combined with the others which are the rest that makes 514 billion altogether.
6
I notice that the United States spends $596 billion on their military a year, they spend more a year than the 7 other countries combined, and the rest of the world, spends $514 billion a year. I wonder why they spend so much money on their military, and what they buy from all this money. This graph is showing the amount of money that all the countries in the world spend's on their military a year. Its crazy how much they spend!
4
@Rylee It is crazy that we are spending so much but we are more advanced in military.
@Rylee I do agree that the military is spending way too much finances! But, at least some of the money is going to good causes like providing food and shelter for the men and women in the military.
By looking at the graph I've notice that the United States is spending way more money on their military. The United States spend more money on their military than the rest of the world. To be honest those people in the military are working just as hard so why don't they get the same about of pay. I wonder why the amount spent isn't divided with the rest of the world. "Is it really worth it"
7
I noticed that the U.S. spends the most money on their military than any other country and even more than the countries combined. They spend the most on their military than any other country in the world. I wonder why our military costs so much more than other country's military. This graph shows us that the U.S. spends more than the rest of the world and it also shows us the next seven other countries that spend a lot on their military. I would name this graph, "Military Spending".
9
@Madison N, I noticed the same thing when I first looked at the graph. I also asked the same question because I don't know how we are able to spend so much money on the military.
1
@Madison N, while looking at the graph I noticed some of the same things as you. I noticed that the United States spend way more money than every body else, but why are we spending so much more money on the military than people who are at war this second. Isn't the United States supports to be peaceful why are we preparing to go to war when the Government is telling us that they are doing everything to prevent it. Shouldn't we spend the money on more impactful purchases, like education and supplies for the poor.
I noticed that the United States is spending way more money than any other color on the key. The greenish-blue part on the key is multiple countries added together and the gray part on the key is the rest of the world. I wonder if we are spending our money wisely or if things are really needed.
6
@Madelyn H honestly i don't think we are spending our money wisely... i truly don't think the government realize how much they are really spending. and if they do see whats happening they should do more to fix it. $596 billion is an excessive amount of money and yes its for the military which is good to spend money for them, but it doesn't need that much
@Ka.Haymond I agree with you because the government can cut down on the production of military supplies and just use the supplies that are already given. By doing this, they already saved millions of dollars.
When I looked at this graph I fully realized just how much the U.S. spends for military purposes. I am curious as why it is so much bigger than everyone else's budget. This graph accurately shows the price of military.
1
@Luke S I agree with your claim about the U.S. spending excessive amounts of money on and I believe that it is due to them striving to have the best military but with that comes with a lot of trial and error that cost billions.
In this graph, I’ve noticed that our country, the United States somehow spends so much more money on the military than all of the other countries each year. They spend 596 billion dollars, which is actually 29 billion more dollars than all the 7 of countries combined! What I’m curious about that comes from what I’ve been noticing in this graph is, how come America has to spend such a huge amount of money on the military. What is so much more necessary in the U.S to acquire such a large amount of money compared to other countries? I would name this graph, “What’s the Influence of United States’ Crazy Military Spending?”.
6
@Gina Luong
I agree with what you are saying. We are spending way too more money when we can be spending money on something else or saving it for a project.
@Gina Luong
I also agree with your points. The amount of spending seems to be a much larger amount of money in comparison to other countries, and we spend more money than what seems needed when you look at the comparisons.
What I notice about the graphs and articles on the spending on the military throughout the world is that the United States spends the most money, and the 7 other countries that spend the most money combines is still less than how much the United States spend. What I wonder is why we spend so much on our military sources, why do others not spend as much? What’s going on this graph is it shows us the amount of money each country spends on their military and how is compares to other countries. A catchy headline could be "Military Treasury of the World".
2
After reviewing this Graph I noticed that the United States spends more than all the other 7 countries combined which makes me think if the money spent is unnecessary or also makes me think where did they get the 596 Billion from.
3
@Eddie M I believe that they initially don't have the 596 billion and they are putting our country in more debt to try to have a good military.
@Eddie M I do think that they may be spending a little bit too much on the military. Although, it's all used to protect our country from outside threats. So, there are ups and downs for the spending on our military.
I noticed that the amount of money the U.S. spends on its military is a lot more than other countries do. I think that the U.S. spends that much money to have a top of the line military I don't think that much money is necessary. I wonder why the military gets all that money but people are still homeless and go to sleep starving and hungry. " How Much Money is Too Much for the Military?"
2
We (I) noticed that in this graph it shows us that the U.S is spending more on the military. But I wonder why the U.S is spending more on the military than any other country in the world. And how/where did the U.S got 596 billion's of dollars. On this graph, it basically is telling you that we're spending tons of money on the military. I would call this "America tops spending money for the military"
4
@Kiana C I agree that a lot of money is being wasted, which can also be used towards education and/or paying off the National Debt.
While looking at the military graphs, I noticed something. I noticed that The United States spends the most with their military. I want to know why the United States spends the most money. The real question I want to know is, what do they buy the most that cost a lot of money costing so much money. The graph is providing information on how much money these countries spend on the military. I also did some researching. For China, they're population is about a billion. The U.S population is about 325 million. How is China spending less money on their military with a bigger population than ours. It surprised me on how much these countries spend for the military.
3
I notice that the United States is spending more money on their military than other countries like Japan or France. I wonder if America spending money on their military to get stronger than other countries. I wonder if the Military is actually doing something else instead of like training and stuff. The story this graph is telling is that comparing the United State’s military money than all the other countries military money.
3
I notice that the reason why our Country is so powerful is because we spend the most money which gives us more stuff to be great. I wonder if we didn’t spend that much money what would be the difference, will we lose are greatness, or will it be the same? I think what is going on is that this graph is that it’s showing how much money the governments around the world is spending and that America spends the most.
9
@Drew Nagler yes this is very true. you are very smart.
@Drew Nagler awesome
@Drew Nagler, I wouldn't just automatically go and say that we are more powerful than everyone else. We could still not have the best army out there. But, we could for sure say that we have the most amount of resources.
I notice the amount of difference that there is in money between countries. It is honestly just crazy how much we spend on the army compared to everybody else. I guess that it shows that we have enough money to develop our army and get more troops. I wonder what the limit will be for the amount of money spent. When are we gonna stop spending money on the army? This graph shows, "Does government need to change the amount of money towards the army?"
7
What I noticed in the graph was that we spend a lot of money on our military and we spend a lot more than other countries. Like how the next 7 countries behind us don't even add up to us. Either we have a lot more money than them or just we spend a lot on them and the other counties use their money on different things. One thing I wonder is, do we spend anymore on anything else other than our military and how much money do we have? One thing that might be going on is that since we spend so much money on our military, is that why we haven't gone to war in a while because they are all scared? If so then we should be in good shape to win a lot of battles that come across to us.
11
I notice that the United States has made taxes towards the military. The taxes add up to $596 Billion dollars which give the military the privilege to eat,have clothes, and be sheltered because that's where most of the taxes go , towards the military. I wonder if military people pay taxes towards the military. I think that in the graph, when it's added up is basically the entire world! which is shocking because the U.S. have more privileges than the other countries.
7
1. This graph shows the relative size of military budgets by country in 2015. It originally appeared elsewhere on NYTimes.com. The first thing I noticed was that the us spends about 596 billion on the military yearly which I was surprised by considering since the america has the strongest military in the world I didn't know it cost that much. I wonder why because some of these countries have strong militaries but the cost is still a lot and a huge difference. What I think might be going on in the graph is that is the us has the most advanced military vehicles from jets to scuba’s so I wonder how much it would cost to make one jet.
I noticed about the United State's spendings on the military is it's so substantial on how much this country is using the people's tax money to contribute to the military. As seen on this graph that was shown, it appears that the United States is the country that spends the most on its military, which dwarfs the other countries on the chart, including the nations biggest arms battle competitor Russia. Especially when there is a proposed increase of 54 billion, I feel like the nations are simply spending money unnecessarily on the armed forces. Since the budget of expenses is basically the entire world's military budget if not more combined, excluding the top 7 behind the U.S., this not only drains the nation's budget but also can put the country into more national debt. There has to be a better solution on the spending of the United State's military such as cutting the budget short as we already have the largest and strongest military in the world. This way our nation can use the other leftover funds to contribute to other departments and spend it on necessities such as helping hunger, putting people in homes, and saving the environment.
1
@Andrew That's so true are u an expert on the subject?
I noticed that the U.S spends a lot more money on the military than other countries. I think that money could be used in other areas. The military is the main priority for us but i think there are more issues that should be hour on our list of priorities
2
I am very shocked to see that we spend almost more than the whole world together, we have spent over 500 billion dollars just in the US and way more than they other countries. Could it be that the advanced technology costs so much? What is it that requires us to spend so much.
2
I notice that all the money the United States spends on military equipment is still more then the next 7 countries that spend the most on military equipment. The money of the United States is almost tripled to the rest of the countries in the world. I wonder why other countries don’t spend nearly as much money as the United states if they know that we have the best weapons. The graph shows us that the United states blows away every country in the world by spending the most money on military weapons.
3
@Kevin O'Connor this is really good. I totally agree with you!
I have noticed that the U.S. had spent around more than 60% more than the second most spending country, china. my question is even though their numbers of infantry (I believe) are similar, their spending is entirely different. Is it that the U.S. has spent way more on the kit that everyone is equipped with or is it the massive amounts of high tech systems and other things like ships, aircraft, and land vehicles is the root of the spending?
2
I notice that the United States has more money for Military spending. I wonder why does thee the rest of the world only has 514? Wouldnt you think that the rest of the world would have more because it is a bigger quantity. This graph is telling us how much money the military spends in certain places.
4
I notice that the United States military’s budget is a lot more than any other country. The second most military budget is China’s, and the third most budget is Saudi Arabia. I wonder if all the money is wisely spent by the military and why they need so much money. I am curious on how much the other countries’ budgets are. In this graph it shows how much each countries’ military budget is worth. “Military’s Money Mess” this slogan tells the story of how many countries military budgets are lower than ours and tries to see if all countries should be even with their budgets or if it should be every country for themselves.
7
@Nikki Tran I also wonder if the money is wisely spent for the military.
1
@Nikki Tran I do agree with you because there are other things that the United States should be putting all that money towards like schools.
@Nikki Tran
I agree.The military really has to think about if they are making the right choices in their money spending.Recommend me ;)
I noticed that the United States spends more on the Military than any other country. These countries (Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, India, Russia, China, and Japan) combined costs less than the United States spending. I wonder why the United States would need so much money to provide for the Military, and what we spend it on. The story of this graph is telling is United States Military spending versus The Rest of the World.
8
@Isabella
The United States needs to spend this amount of money, to prepare for any terrorist attacks that may occur, as they were not ready for the events of 9/11, the military having places set up in areas like Europe, Japan, and Australia, is able to prepare the United States in the events of a World War outbreak, or devastating terrorist attacks. With the United States spending money on military is able to provide life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to the citizens, as military forces are able to give us the opportunity, because they are risking their lives our there, so we do not have to fight.
1
I notice multiple things that stand out to me, the fact that we spend 381 billion more dollars than the 2nd biggest spending country on Earth blows my mind. I wonder what we could possibly be spending all this on and how much more do we really need. I also wonder how we are projected to go up 54 billion more dollars when we are already spending 596 billion a year. "The extremely expensive route the United States has taken."
7
@Jaden
This response I agree with because I believe we are spending 596 billion a year. INSANE RESPONSE!!
1
@Jaden, we have definitely taken an expensive route. Although, that doesn't mean that it wasn't necessary. I mean, we are the most thriving country in the world right now.
I wonder why the US spends so much more money than all other countries. this graph makes America seem almost bad for some reason. When I look at it I see the United States as a dictator of the world. I wonder if other countries have the same amount of money as us, but just don't use it for the same things.
11
@Juliet Otellio I agree people might not use as much money as the United States do on their army. They might not have that much to put into their armies and they might use it for something else that we don't use it for.
@Juliet Otellio
I agree, where do they get all this money from every year and why do they choose to spend so much on this?
Is there enough money already in the military? After looking at this graph I notice that the United States spends 596 billion dollars a year on the military. After hearing and looking at that I wonder if there is enough money for the United States because we are sending an awful lot for the military. I know they fight for us and all but do they seriously need that much. We spend more money that all of the other Countries and some of them combined as well.
6
@Laurel Manion I agree on your statement of people sending the military tons of money and am curious to if they spend it all carefully.
I notice that adding up the seven countries and the rest of the world's military expenses still do not add up to what the United States spends yearly on our own defense forces. I wonder if spending less money on our military would help bring more funds for the government and states, and actually help improve the country. Or, if it just turns into chaos within society. What this graph is trying to point out is the amount of money America has stored for our military compared to the rest of the countries in the world. "The Costly Defense."
10
I saw that the United States spends a lot more money on the government than any other country. The United States spends more than all 7 other countries combined as one. I wonder what all of this money is actually going to. I believe what's going on in this graph is, "The United States spends more money than any other country on the military, but what is it actually for?".
6
I notice that The United States has a increasing amount of five hundred and ninety-six billion dollars being funded to the military. This is a very large number compared to other countries around the globe. The other top six countries have only double-digit numbers. Japan has forty-one billion dollars that are being spent for their military. Britain, France, and India has around fifty billion dollars funded into their military. Russia has sixty-six billion dollars that goes to their military, and Saudi Arabia has eighty-seven billion dollars funded into their military. If you add the amount of funds that go into the seven countries listed, you get five hundred and sixty-seven billion dollars. The amount of the seven countries is twenty-nine billion dollars less than America’s funding to it's military. If we add up all of the funds that the gray bubbles have, we have five hundred and fourteen billion dollars in total. The total of eight-seven countries is eighty-two billion dollars less than America. I wonder why America is spending so much money for their military. I think that saving all this money is a waste of space. This graph is telling us Americans to cut down some of the funding that goes to the military because we have the highest amount of money that is given to our military. "America is Going Wild With it's Funds For Their Military"
6
I noticed in the graph that America is very powerful and has the latest weapons and weapon system. What is dumbfounding is that America spends more money than 7 other countries combined. The one question I have is why do we give so much to the military and how much of our taxes are going to the military? “Why are we spending so much on the military when we can build houses or give so to the poor?
The first thing I notice is the difference in the prices of the military budgets of the different countries. There is such a significant difference in them. I wonder why the U.S.A’s budget is so much larger? I also wonder where all that money goes? The story of this graph is telling is that no other country spends as much as the U.S in military expenses. My headline is “Big Spender”. This article supports my claim that the U.S spends a lot more than any other country.
8
I notice that the entire world's military budget is 1 trillion and 677 billion dollars. The US is more that a third of that worldwide military budget. I wonder why we spend so much more money on our military that any of the other countries in the world. If we could cut back on a small portion of this budget and put that money towards other things like the National Park Service, or the nation's debt to other countries, it could become more beneficial to our nation's legacy. Our debt is now up to 13 trillion dollars and, while setting aside a small portion of the military budget, say, 100 billion, we could start taking big steps towards eliminating our debt. The story this graph is telling is that we spend too much on our military; look at China, they have a very strong military at only 200 million! We spend almost three times that amount and I feel as if we are trying to compensate for something with our military. We are the strongest military in the world, but at that cost? It seems as though we have gone too far with our power. Me must cut back and think smart with our national budget.
6
@Brady Fendt Good point
I noticed on the united states has more military spending then the the 7 countries and the rest of the world. I also noticed that our 596 billion dollar military spending is per year. I wonder that if the U.S. spending rate is actually 596 billion dollars. What I think that the graph might be going is that the U.S. is spending more on military just incase of an attack on the U.S.
2
Wasting unnecessary $ ?!?
I notice we are putting too much money into the military spending compared to other countries. I wonder if the money being spent could be cut and put into something else we might need such as paying debts. The story this graph is telling is that we choose to prioritize wasting money in war preparation or military other than other needed priorities.
6
@Ali
Usually the country that is less problematic such as Britain and France, use less money for their military because it is not an issue for them.
@Sara Alvarado Your right but why is it not an issue them and is more of a problem to us?
One major thing that I noticed is that the U.S. spends a massive amount of money on just military and that they want to increase that spending by 54 billion dollars, that would mean the U.S. would spend 650 billion dollars a year, That's Insane! I wonder what the other countries are doing that is still supporting an army but for a much lower price than what we are paying and I wonder what we could do to lower the price that were paying. What Is happening in this graph is it is showing how much money different countries pay for their military, it also explains how much we spend compared to other countries.
4
@Noah B. We do spend a lot of money compared to the other countries and I wonder why we are asking for even more money and what we need it to spend it on.
Something that I notice from this graph is that the United States spends way more money than any other county. Why is this? Does the United States care for the military more or purchase better quality materials compared to other countries. Or are we just spending to much money on unnecessary things? I find this very interesting considering there are bigger places than the United States that are spending less.
8
When I was looking at this graph I noticed the U.S spends more money (596 billion) than any other nation in the world. The number alone is insane but is it really necessary to spend that much on our military? People constantly complain about one thing or another that's “public” like public schools or the road. Imagine how redirecting some of that 596 billion into fixing problems people always want to be fixed.
3
@Daniel Hello, I like your post. I also wonder why the U.S. spends so much on the military, and how it affects our economy. I think this is quite epic to see the amount America spends on the armed forces.
The first thing that I notice when looking at this graph, is the fact that the United States money spent on the Military is higher than everywhere else, even when all the other locations are combined. I am very curious to why the United States spends more money on the Military than other countries. This graph clearly shows the differences in the amount of money spent on Military in different countries. A decent headline for the graph could be something as simple as “High Prices for Military.”
4
@Gage Klinker yes i very much agree <3
When looking at this graph, from 2015, I notice the absurd amount of money the U.S. spends on the military comparatively to the other countries. The U.S. spends more than double the amount that the country that spends the second most on their military, which is China. I wonder why the price of the military fluctuates to the extent that it does, and how it got to an annual spending of almost $600 billion. I also wonder why there is such a large price gap between the other countries and America, and why only 8 countries double the rest of the world’s military spending. This graph shows a prime example of the U.S.’s military strength and amount spent on it, and how it compares to other countries. A headline I believe would catch the reader’s eye and make people want to look more into this would be, “$600 Billion to the Armed Forces, for Better or for Worse?”
10
After looking at the graph I wonder why is the United states spending so much money compared to the other countries for the military. Is all this money going into the military so they could have more weapons and have a stronger army? What is the United states investing all this money for?Could it be that United states is spending so much money compared to the other counties to build a stronger and better force against what is happening maybe outside of the United States.
8
1. I notice America is spending billions more on military compared to other countries. We aren’t even the biggest country yet we spend so much compared to the whole world combined. The US spends about $596 billion while the whole world combined (not including the other countries named) spends $514 billion.
2. I wonder what we are spending so much. Is it weapons or just having so many people in the military? I want to know if we could cut down on costs and still have a great army. These are achievable things, people just have to pick up their heads and realize how damaging this could be.
3. What’s going in this graph is it’s showing how we are spending all our money. Other countries are being more resourceful with their money while America is pouring it all into one thing.
4. Catchy headline- More Money, More Problems OR Billions Down the Drain
11
Something that I noticed about this graph was that some countries spend so little amount of money but the United States spends much more. This graph is showing the amount of money that each country spends on the military. But what does the Military spend all that money on? Why are they spending this much? I would name this graph "how much does your country spend"?
7
Something that I noticed when I first saw this graph is how much more the United States spends on their military compared to the rest of the entire world. I wondered why the United States spend so much money on their military each year. All of the other countries in the world spend a lot less than the United States and I wonder why this is so. This graph shows that the United States spend so much money on their military that all of the other countries seem like they aren’t spending very much money because of how much money the United States put into their defense operation. They spend more money than seven countries combined! “Is the United States Putting Their Money to the Right Place?”
22
What I notice is that the United States of America spends the most amount of money than any other country in the world. I wonder why the U.S spends so much money on the army. Is it because they have to feel extra safe if they were to go into war? I believe what’s going on in this graph is, “Does the United States of America need to spend all this money on the military just to feel superior to other countries?”
3
@Mikayla A Very true statement. :)
The Cost of Spending:
When I was looking at the graph I noticed that we spend so much money on our military but why are we still having problems on base land or wars? If we spend the most out of all countries why can't we solve our problems? It could be saying that our state has the best materials or equipment but we can't pay for our government problems. The only thing we can fix is the Military and we can fix that by money. Perhaps for our government we can't fix what people believe and don't believe by money. To me the only thing that we can do to fix this is not rely on money so much that we are known for the most spent military team.
7
I noticed that in the graph, the United States spends $29 billion more than all of the 7 countries showed above, which to me sounds a little crazy. I truly wonder if as a national, we have a limit on how much money we can spend on our military. I also wonder if some countries already have a budget on how much they can spend. If that is so, I think that might be a factor to why they spend so little on their government. From what I can see, the story this is telling us is that we spend the most money on our military, which is why we have the most modern technology and the strongest weapons.
14
I notice that in the charts the U.S is spending around $596 million and everyone else is spending way lower than that. I’m curious about why the U.S would spend such a great amount of money and why everyone else is spending such little money on their military. What does the U.S military spend so much money on and is the U.S using too much of their money and should be investing in something more, it makes me wonder. “What is the U.S spending so much money on in the military, is it a waste?”
7
@Kaitlyn J. I'm also curious why the United States spend so much more money than any other country.
I noticed that more than 1/3 of the money spent on the military in the world is spent by the United States. This is the largest amount of money a single country has spent on the military budget, the obvious reason we are trillions of dollars in debt. I truly do wonder why we haven't cut back on the military funding, as other countries are clearly doing fine, with much less money spent on the military. The story that the graph is trying to convey, however, is how we as Americans spend way too much money on the military, and as previously stated, how we should cut back our fundings, and use it for a much more important use.
"Why do we spend so much on something others are succeeding with spending so little on?
5
In this graph, I noticed that the U.S. spends the most money on their military out of everyone in the world, I also noticed that besides China, we are the only ones that are in the hundred billion range. Truthfully, I wonder where we’re getting all of this money from and if it is a smart choice to blow it all on our defenses. Some things that may be going into this graph are how much money each country spends on its military defenses and the fact that the U.S. spends the most out of all of us."The U.S Blows Nations Away by the Billions."
3
@Dominick Arredondo I do agree with you because there are other things that the United States should be putting all that money towards.
The main thing I notice in this graph is how big the gap is between how much the US spends in the military compared to all of the other countries in the world. I understand that the US wants to have an extremely strong military but the country will not be able to economically thrive if you put so much of the countries money into the military. I wonder why they keep putting so much money into the military if they are ahead of every other country by far. I think they should keep putting money into our military but at a decreased rate. This graph shows the top 7 countries by how much money they spend in the military, it compares the US to the other 6 countries, and it also compares the US to the rest of the world.
2
I notice that the United States is spending way more money for our military than all the other countries. I wonder if the other countries have budgets for their military and what are the non- green circles for, like do they represent other countries? The story the graph is trying to tell us is that the United States spends more money on our military than most countries. "Spending More Money than Others."
9
@Mea Chua I do agree that your statement is true because look at our country compared to others and it isn't anything near the other states.
The graph represents the amount of money that the United States and other places around the world spend of the MIlitary. I notice that the number of money spent in the United States is very high compared to what the other countries have spent. They spent almost 3 times more than in China. I wonder why the United States sent so much money on the Military than other countries did?! What type of military equipment were they buying that was so expensive or they were buying so much?!
“Why does the US Spend So much?”
11
Just by looking at this graph I noticed how America could honestly be spending the most on our military, more than the entire continent of Europe and even countries in the Middle East region? I wonder even how we have the needs to do so much with our military. "Is the strongest defense really even a strong swift offense at all?"
I notice that the United States is spending more money on their military than any other country out there. America spends more money on their military than the rest of the world. I wonder why the United States of America spend so much money on their military. I also wonder where did America get 596 billion dollars to spend on the military. The story this graph is telling is how much money the U.S. actually spends on their military compared to other countries around the world. “How much money spent on the military is too much?”
20
@Juliet A I agree with you because I also wonder why the United States spends so much money on their military.
In this graph it shows all of the money that the countries spend on the military each year. The United States payed about 596 billion dollars on the military. The other 7 countries add up to approximately 567 billion dollars and the rest of the world has 514 billion all added up. I notice that the United States spends so much money on the military compared to everyone else. It shows either that the United States is very wealthy and fortunate or that they are spending too much money on unnecessary things. They other states aren't as fortunate as us and they don't have as much, that's why i think they only put in 41 to 81 billion in on military. In China they put in 215 billion dollars for the military, they nearly half then what the US puts in. I wonder where the money actually goes when they put it to the military, what is it actually used for, what do they get and what is left over. I also wonder if they are wasting the money for the things that they truly don't use. The military deserves all of this money but how is it being used. The title is honestly hard because it has so many things to it but I would call it “ Where is this money really going in to?”.
10
@Jessalyn
You are very correct
America has such a large military spending. Why do we spend so much money on our military when the rest of the world doesn’t spend anywhere near as much as we do? The story this graph is trying to tell in one of the United States trying to assert dominance over the rest of the world possibly from emerging as a global super power following WW II and escalated by the Cold War. This graph should be titled “America’s Enormous Military Spending. Is it tile to cut back?”
I notice that the US spends the most money on its military out of all of the countries in the whole world. I wonder why the US spends so much more than everyone else on their military. The story that this graph is telling is that the United States spend more money than anyone else in the world and the catchy headline would be “The US spends how much?”
4
I notice that the U.S. spends a lot more money on military than the rest of the countries. The major ones combined are still less and the rest of the world combined are still lacking. I’m curious as to why America spends 596 billion on military. I understand that America wants to be acknowledged by other countries as a strong nation, but what exactly are they doing that costs them so much? I think the story that this graph is telling is how much the U.S. spends compared to the other countries. I believe that a good headline for the graph would be "The Cost of our Military."
8
In these graphs I notice that the biggest debt is the United States military with an astounding amount at 596 billion dollars. I wonder that if United States spent less money on their military if they would be able to keep their debt at a much lower number. Also if we cut on military expenses we would be able to spend more on other things like prisons. These graphs state that United States has the biggest debt out of anywhere on earth, not even 7 of the closest in debt add up to the debt that we have managed to obtain.
1
@Evan Caldwell I also agree with your statement because the United States are paying way too much money. If they payed a lower debt they would be able to save money on other things
The first thing that I notice about the graph is that the United States spends the largest sum of money out of all the other countries that are shown. I wonder why the United States is going above and beyond by spending colossal amounts of money on its military while all other nations shown in the graph keep their spendings on a standard level for well-developed European and Asian countries. This graph's main focus is to compare the amount of money the United States spends on its military to how much money other well-economically and industrially developed countries spend on their military. I would name this graph, "The United States v. the Most Advanced Countries in the World: Should the U.S. cut back?"
2
I saw that the United States of America had to pay the most money per year because of military payment
1
I notice that the United States is almost outspending every nation combined in military spending. I wonder why the United States needs to spend 3 times more than China when we have a third of China's population. This graph is telling me that we are trying to add a safety net in our military by distancing ourselves from other countries.
I notice that the largest circles represent mostly developed countries as opposed to less developed with the United States of America spends the most. I wonder about what the budget is for other countries and also which countries the smaller, non-green circles are supposed to represent. The story the graph is telling us is one of excess. "Is Too Much of a Defense the Proper Offense?"
I notice that the us spends more money than any other countries by at least 3x and is still rising by an estimate of 50 billion. I wonder what causes us to spend so much money on our military and why we spend it on that. I think that we may be either spending to much money on unneeded military troops {we do need military but not such a large standing force} or we are researching ways to increase our combat effectiveness.
@Camron I agree with you because I was also wondering why the U.S spends so much more money than other countries.
1
I notice that the United States spends almost three times more than China on the military. I wonder what the United States spends all of this money on for the military? What equipment are we buying and how is this huge budget providing for our country? The story this graph is telling is that the United States spends the most money on military than any other country in the world. By a lot.
I notice that the graph shows countries that spend money a sizable amount of money on their military. I wonder why we are proposing to increase military spending by 54 billion when we are already significantly far away. The story this graph is telling us is that the US doesn’t need to increase its spending any more. I would name this, “Why the US does not need to spend 54 billion dollars more on our military.”
1
By looking at this graph you can see that the U.S. spends way more money on their military then any other country. My question is why would they spend so much? What exactly are they investing in or spending all of this money on?
1
@Ashlyn C. I agree with you because I was wondering the same thing. Where exactly are they investing in?
I notice that the United States spends the most money on military than any other country. I wonder why other countries aren’t investing as much money in their military as we are.
In this graph I notice that the United states spends more that all of the other countries combined. I wonder why the US has such a high military spending rate.
@Noah
I see the circles on the graph represent the countries and the bigger they are means the more they spend on military, however there are very tiny circles in the graphs who could be spending way less than everyone else.
I notice that the United States circle is so much bigger than the rest of the other countries. Which means that the US spends more on the military than other countries. I wonder why we are putting so much into our military than other countries.
I notice from the graph that the United States spends a very generous sum of money on the military, even more than other developed countries combined. Is this necessary though for us to spend that much when there are clearly other areas where this money could be applied. "Sorry To Burst Your $596 Billion Bubble America," but this the military budget is nothing to be proud of.
I notice that the US spends more on our military than the next 7 countries combined. Our military budget is unnecessarily large and I think a lot of that money could be better suited in other areas, like preventing homelessness or raising minimum wage. I realize the military is a main priority of our country, but there are a lot of issues that should be much higher on our list of priorities.
I think that the inferior countries aren’t as concerned for their national security and citizen well-being as we are here in America. This results in the US spending more to protect their people.
1
@Amanda Vlcek maybe you right that other countries aren's concerned of the nation security and citizen but in the U.S., maybe they are spending more money to protect their people.
I notice that the US spends the most amount of money on their military. Why is this? Do some countries not worry about their protection as much as the US? Or are some countries just not as much in need of the protection, some countries might just be more protected by the countries they are surrounded by too if they are allies with each other and then they might not worry about having a strong military if their allies do.
By looking at this graph, I notice that the United State's budget is quite a bit larger than other countries. This leads me to wonder if it is the United States or other countries that care too much or too little about military budgets. Is the United States overestimating the need for a strong military? Or are other countries disregarding that need? The story this graph is telling is of the Fat size of the U.S. military budget.
By looking at this graph, I noticed that the U.S. spends more money on military than the next 7 countries put together.
I notice that the graph shows multiple places that spend money on their military. I wonder why we spend so much more than the other countries. I think that this is showing the difference between countries importance.
I notice that the U.S spends the most money on their Military. I wonder why U.S has actually spent that much.
The United States spends a lot of money on our military and that is why we're called "the police of the world.
1
Something that I wonder about this graph is why some countries spend so little on the government while the United States spend so much. I also wonder what they spend all of the money on. I think what is going on in this graph is it is showing the amount of money that each country spends on the military. I would name this graph “How Much Does Your Country Spend?”
4
@Kennedy F. I like your idea but one thing I notice is that we don't know for sure on how much money EACH country spent on their military just the highlighted ones. :)
the United States spends a lot more money on the government than any other country. Even with 7 countries combined, there's still a huge gap on how much we spend. I think they could spend some of that money on something else.
We spend lots of money on our military in general and even compared to other countries we spend lots as well. There is nowhere else that compares to how much we spend.
I noticed that the United States spends a lot more money on the government than any other country, they spend more than all 7 other countries combined together. In a sense, I wonder what all of this money is actually going to, considering the fact that we are certainly not the largest country in the world. I believe whats going on in this graph is, "The United States spends more money than any other country on military, but is it worth it?".
5
@Eli Woodruff I think you are very correct Eli. This is more than America should have.
I notice that this graph represents the amount money every country spends on their military. It seems that the larger the circle, the larger the amount. I wonder why the United States spends more money on their military then all the other countries combined. “We Knew the U.S. Had Money, but Did We Know They Had This Much?”
The reason I chose this headline is because everyone knows the U.S. is so in debt, but they use all that money towards the military.
@Chloe H. Hello, Chloe H. I agree with you entirely on that headline. The main reason being that America is submerged in their debts so much so that they believe spending their remaining money on the military will save the main thing that they are afraid of losing: the whole nation. My mentality in this situation is that America needs to feel secure in one area, military so that they can mutually dedicate their time and money on other, just as important issues such as healthcare or education.
I want to know why the U.S spends so much money on the military. I feel like there are so many other things they could be using the money for. I don't think the military pulls rank over like starving people, and like the homeless. I feel like they need to check their priorities.
One thing I noticed is that the United States spends more on the military than the next seven countries do. One thing I wonder is where specifically all of this money is going, to homes, salaries, more weaponry? Or something else?
@Payton I also wonder where all this money is going... maybe the government?
I noticed that All of the countries military budgets are around the same except for the us’s budget. It is so much larger than anyone else, more than twice anyone else. The fact that the US has the largest budget is not surprising, but the vast difference between the US and China is slightly alarming to me. I wonder Why is the US budget so vastly large compared to everyone else? And is this still true in 2019?
I noticed that the US spends exponentially more on their military budget than other countries. I wonder why the US feels the need to spend so much money on military and where the money is being taken from. What other government functions could be funded using this money? This graph lets us know "The US spends the most on military. Our taxpayers can afford the most powerful military force in the world!"
I noticed that the United States spends more money on their military than that of the next seven countries combined. I wonder why the USA has so much military spending, and what we could be otherwise spending that extra money on. The story the graph is telling is "USA spends most on military. The USA spends more than the next seven countries combined!"
@West S. True
I wonder how the budget for military spending in the US is split among the branches. There are $37 billion more than 7 other countries military spending and I'm very curious as to which branches they are going to. There is also a proposed $54 billion increase? It's an expense that will come from somewhere else, whether an internal function or taxpayer's pockets.
HI, @Mykinzi W --
Check out tomorrow's Reveal when we give you the link to the New York Times article that had this graph and others. There, they will show with graphs how some of the military budget is spent to its major components. After you see this, decide if the budget needs to be increased.
Please realize that a proposed budget is not an appropriated budget. There can be a BIG difference
The United States spends an incredulous amount on the military compared to every other country. Where does this money go? Why do we spend so much? Why is the US obsessed with global hegemony? Why can’t just 10% of this fund go towards addressing poverty and class inequalities? Half a trillion on essentially planning/contributing to warfare and death -- Where is this money going? We spend over half a trillion on the military, more than the next 7 countries, where does this money go specifically? The United States is obsessed with excellence, and to what extent is this necessary? These questions need to be answered, as we must spend more on military than some extremely key areas if the number is that significant compared to other countries’ military.
1
@Jake S I also want to know where is the money going to go and why United States spend so much on the U.S. Military.
I noticed that the United States spends an alarmingly large amount of money for military funding. It's interesting how there are more guns than people in the United States.
I notice that the United States has the greatest military budget by an extreme gap. I also noticed that although the Cold War is allegedly still going on Russia's military budget is significantly lower than ours, which would seem to put us at an enormous advantage. I wonder what all of our budget for the military goes towards and why it needs to be so big? Obviously, other countries manage without spending so much so where does all of that money go? It is amazing (I guess I don't know that "amazing " is the right word) that the US spends more than the next 7 countries combined on our military. "The US is number 1, is it a surprise that it's for spending?"
I noticed that the United States spends more on military than the rest of the world by far. I also noticed that the majority of countries spend very little on their military's because they didn’t appear green, or with an amount spent listed. The United States spends more on their military then the next 7 combined.I wonder why the United States spends so much on their military, and why they still think they need more money put into it. I also wonder why so many other countries don’t spend much at all on their military. Do they not care about protecting their people? Or do they just not need the protection and discipline? I also wonder why North Korea doesn’t have a bubble because the United States is always so concerned with their military. The story this graph is telling is the United States spends more on their military than any other country. “How Much is To Much?”
I notice that the United States had the biggest military budget in 2015, and Japan had the smallest budget out of the top 8 countries on this graph. I wonder how the spending changes the actual military strategy, or if other countries who have less money to spend could still develop better strategies. The United States spends more on its military than the rest of the world's countries combined. "The U.S. Spends How Much on its Military?"
I confuses me how a country that is placed third in regards of population can spend 3 times more money on military than the country with the biggest population of people in the world. Not only that but the United States wants to be able to increase that budget another $54 billion dollars adding up to about $640 billion dollars. This makes me question what all of this money is really going to I do not doubt that most of it is going towards the military but is all of it, and if it is what categories and goals is it specifically going towards.
I notice that the United States spending more money than anyone else on military funds. I wonder what they are using all that money on. The story in this graph is telling military spending by country. “ United States spends more money on military spending than the next 7 countries combined.”
When your country spends over double on military than the second largest military in the world, you have some reason to be worried. Then when your country wants to increase the budget by $54 billion, one might assume that you can expect trouble. So it makes me wonder why we spend so much money on military. Should I be worried? Or not?
@Cole S. Hello Cole S., I believe that you should be concerned about the future of America but not worried. America is not quite known for spending their money wisely when it comes to protecting their borders and their nation. The best thing you can do is vote for certain changes to be made in the federal budget process. If it truly concerns you to the point where you are worried that America will be part of the third world war or something outrageous like that then vote if you have the chance. We, as American citizens have the right to vote in order to influence the direction in which America is heading in. Don't be a bystander, instead see what you can do for your country. Then again, we should have more faith that our leaders know what they are doing but a quick head-ups, their mistakes affect everyone, not just them. I hope this answers your question!
1
HI, @Cole S. --
I'd recommend that you go to the graph's source (cited below the chart), you will find statistics on the military spending by country and how it compares per capita (per person) and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product and government spending. After looking at these statistics, are your worried? Share with us your findings.
It is striking how during the Cold War the US and Russia were in an arms race spending a ton on of money on our respective militaries. Now it seems that we are the only ones who spend an excessive amount on our military, thought I suppose that a more accurate comparison would be by percentage of the country's money as the US is the biggest economy in the world so we have more to spend.
HI, @Sprite K --
Going to the graph's source (cited below the chart), you will find statistics on the military spending by country and how it compares per capita (per person) and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product and government spending. Maybe this will support your positions.
Please report back to us on what you discover.
I notice that the United State's military budget is way larger than any other country. The budgets of the top seven countries behind the U.S. all added together doesn't even equal the total of the U.S. I wonder why we spend so much on our military than any other country. We could be putting a lot of that money towards other issues within our country.
"United States: The Big Spender"
I notice that the United States spends more on its military than the next seven highest spending countries. I wonder how necessary it really is to spend as much as our country does. An appropriate heading for a story representing the graph could be “United States Military Domination, In Spending.” This grabs attention while emphasizing how much the US spends.
HI, @Andrew Smith --
“United States Military Domination, In Spending” is a great headline. Would you attach some statistics to this?
I had noticed that the United States spends more on military than all other countries. I wonder why that much when we could sue part of the money for finding cures for incurable diseases like cancer or AIDS. The story this graph is telling us is that we spend a lot of more money on military than most countries.
I notice that the US spends more than 2x as much as the second highest, China. It makes me wonder what they're spending it on and what makes them think they need more to spend. The graph itself is saying they're spending too much. Do they not have enough to spend already? Why do they need more?
@Stevie Jones It also makes me wonder what they're spending it on too!
I noticed the US has the most military spending compared to the other countries. I wonder why the US is spending the most money out of all the other countries, yet they still want to increased the budget for the military. The story this graph is telling is that the US spends the most money on our military.
“Military Money”
HI, @Ava --
Thank you for the headline. Alliteration grabs readers’ attention.
I notice that the United States spends more on the military than any other country. I wonder about where this information comes from, and what parts of the military it includes. The story the graph is telling is that the united states spends too much on the military.
@Emily I too wonder where this information is coming from
Hi, @Emily and @Hope --
You both wonder where this information is coming from. When the New York Times publishes a graph, it notes the source of the data and statistics below the graph. Take a look again at the graphs and go to the source. You will find these statistics and many more. This will give you a deeper insight for more noticings and wonderings.
I notice that the US has the most amount of money put into the military. I wonder why we need to put in that much money into the military. USA wants more money for the military? What could this mean?
The United States Military budget is significantly higher than the military budgets of the rest of the countries in the world. China has the next highest military budget though they budget approximately 381 billion dollars less than the United States.
I wonder why the United States pays so much more for their military and still wants to increase their budget. The United States spends $37 billion more itself than the next 7 countries all put together in the graph.
HI, @Caitlin Dunning --
Interesting comparison based on the chart. Which is easier to compare country military expenditures– the bubble map or the chart? How does this affect your interpretation?
I wonder why the United States military budget is almost three times as much as China's.
Military spending seems like a very broad term. What is actually included in expenses for our military spending?
Why does the United States have the largest military budget compared to the rest of the countries.
I wonder how much of an increase each president has had on the military budget.
1
@Sarah Kearney That is a good point Sarah! Our military budget is crazy expensive. I wonder why the presidents increase it so much!
HI, @Sarah Kearney --
Come back tomorrow when we will release the link to the New York Times article that included these and several other graphs. There, you will see what the military budget is spent on. You may be surprised!