Claim (from what I understand are everyone's comments here):
US military spending has increased in recent decades whilst spending on heathcare and education has declined, This is the reason American super-powers are in (apparent) decline and it is Trumps fault.
Fact Check:
US military spending has been declining since the end of WW2. Looks like there was a small blip for Korean war / Vietnam ? and also when Obama was president. Other than that I am not sure the facts show a picture of increased US military spending in recent decades or any link between right-wing US governments and left-wing governments increasing spend.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?contextual=default&end=2024&locations=US&start=1960&view=chart
If you search the same world-bank data for US healthcare spending it looks almost opposite to the military spend. from about 4% of GDP in 1950s to 18% today.
So the actual facts seem to be that post WW2 US government military spending has declined significantly whilst US government healthcare spending has increased significantly.
Still, lets not let those facts cloud the argument and lets just blame 'it' on Trump anyways (whatever "it" is that we are now blaming him for).
So how does this happen? And I know it is not Trump. Original post is about the decline of a superpower.
Medical debt is a leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States, with estimates suggesting that medical issues contribute to over 60% of all filings. Despite the Affordable Care Act reducing uninsured rates, high out-of-pocket costs, deductibles, and income loss from illness cause, on average, over 530,000 families to file for bankruptcy annually.
Bankruptcy due to medical costs in Australia is relatively uncommon, affecting only an estimated 8-12% of personal insolvencies. While Medicare and private insurance cover most costs, gaps in dental, private, and specialist care can lead to financial distress, usually driven by income loss during illness rather than just the debt.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
Claim (from what I understand are everyone's comments here):
US military spending has increased in recent decades whilst spending on heathcare and education has declined, This is the reason American super-powers are in (apparent) decline and it is Trumps fault.
Fact Check:
US military spending has been declining since the end of WW2. Looks like there was a small blip for Korean war / Vietnam ? and also when Obama was president. Other than that I am not sure the facts show a picture of increased US military spending in recent decades or any link between right-wing US governments and left-wing governments increasing spend.data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?contextual=default&end=2024&locations=US&start=1960&view=chart
If you search the same world-bank data for US healthcare spending it looks almost opposite to the military spend. from about 4% of GDP in 1950s to 18% today.
So the actual facts seem to be that post WW2 US government military spending has declined significantly whilst US government healthcare spending has increased significantly.
Still, lets not let those facts cloud the argument and lets just blame 'it' on Trump anyways (whatever "it" is that we are now blaming him for).
Still going up
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
Claim (from what I understand are everyone's comments here):
US military spending has increased in recent decades whilst spending on heathcare and education has declined, This is the reason American super-powers are in (apparent) decline and it is Trumps fault.
Fact Check:
US military spending has been declining since the end of WW2. Looks like there was a small blip for Korean war / Vietnam ? and also when Obama was president. Other than that I am not sure the facts show a picture of increased US military spending in recent decades or any link between right-wing US governments and left-wing governments increasing spend.data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?contextual=default&end=2024&locations=US&start=1960&view=chart
If you search the same world-bank data for US healthcare spending it looks almost opposite to the military spend. from about 4% of GDP in 1950s to 18% today.
So the actual facts seem to be that post WW2 US government military spending has declined significantly whilst US government healthcare spending has increased significantly.
Still, lets not let those facts cloud the argument and lets just blame 'it' on Trump anyways (whatever "it" is that we are now blaming him for).
Yup, makes sense. The U.S. are running out of weapons by trying to knock down $35,000 Iranian drones. Western weapons manufacturers can't make more missiles fast enough.
There is a 87.2% chance America will win this war, depending who you ask.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
If you search the same world-bank data for US healthcare spending it looks almost opposite to the military spend. from about 4% of GDP in 1950s to 18% today.
So the actual facts seem to be that post WW2 US government military spending has declined significantly whilst US government healthcare spending has increased significantly.
Most Americans don't understand why they pay so much for so little. As usual in the real world the answer is convoluted, complicated and in large part due to special interest groups, i.e. the health insurance companies. Many anti war pacifists like to beat the drum on how much defense industry lobbyists distort the American democratic process, but their pot of money to lavish on politicians is tiny compared to how much the health insurance companies spend on lobbying (I believe the health insurance companies spend 20x more than the defense industry).
Not sure why an Australian would want to go down that rabbit hole, but if you happen to want to waste a lot of time, a place to start is by googling how much the USA spends on administration vs patient care.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
Whilst I beLIEve it is fair bit more nuanced than cammd's three sentence comment.
1. Do you beLIEve the suppLIEr wouLIEd compLIE with the unLIEkeLIEst reqLIEst?
2. Do you beLIEve that famiLIEs shouLIEd reLIE on the pubLIEc LIEbrary's tiLIEs?
3. Do you beLIEve the repLIEvLIEd sLIEgh was a poLIEte resLIE?
Asking for a friend
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
Claim (from what I understand are everyone's comments here):
US military spending has increased in recent decades whilst spending on heathcare and education has declined, This is the reason American super-powers are in (apparent) decline and it is Trumps fault.
Fact Check:
US military spending has been declining since the end of WW2. Looks like there was a small blip for Korean war / Vietnam ? and also when Obama was president. Other than that I am not sure the facts show a picture of increased US military spending in recent decades or any link between right-wing US governments and left-wing governments increasing spend.data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?contextual=default&end=2024&locations=US&start=1960&view=chart
If you search the same world-bank data for US healthcare spending it looks almost opposite to the military spend. from about 4% of GDP in 1950s to 18% today.
So the actual facts seem to be that post WW2 US government military spending has declined significantly whilst US government healthcare spending has increased significantly.
Still, lets not let those facts cloud the argument and lets just blame 'it' on Trump anyways (whatever "it" is that we are now blaming him for).
Once again with the Strawman.
No one claimed USA was increasing spending. In fact, I clearly said they were the world leaders in Military Spending. They don't need to increase spending to remain the leader.
But you know what? USA per capita GDP has grown from around $15k in the 1940s, to aound $90k this year.
So it's very misleading to state that "post WW2 US government military spending has declined significantly "
Sure, they don't lead as percentage of GDP, but they spend more than the next 5 nations combined in plain Dollars, partly because their GPD has grown substantially.
And I didn't say they were't spending enough on healthcare and education, just that they're not prioritising it.
