Jan 19, 2024
President Joe Biden recently signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act. This development has left independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. astounded by the substantial expenditure it entails.
On social media platform X, Kennedy shared a Politico article about Congressional leaders striking a deal on overall budget figures and highlighted what he found to be a key detail.
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“One thing leaps out at me: ‘Defense funding is set at $886 billion for the current fiscal year… the accord pegs non-defense funding at nearly $773 billion,’” he wrote.
What astonishes him is the disproportionate amount America allocates to defense compared to other areas.
“Defense spending exceeds all other discretionary spending combined. What does that say about our nation’s priorities?” Kennedy asked.
To be fair, America has always prioritized defense significantly, maintaining its position as the world’s leading spender in this domain. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, U.S. military spending reached $877 billion in 2022, which was more than the next 10 countries combined. This included $19.9 billion in military aid to Ukraine that year.
The growing deficit
America has been operating at a deficit.
In fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, 2023, the federal government spent $6.13 trillion and collected $4.44 trillion in revenue, resulting in a deficit of $1.7 trillion.
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This trend of deficit spending, where expenditures exceed revenue, is continuing. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024 (October to December 2023), the federal budget deficit totaled nearly $510 billion.
Kennedy is adamant about putting a stop to this trend.
“When I’m President I WILL cut the deficit,” he declared on X. “And there is no way to do that without cutting defense spending.”
According to his campaign website, Kennedy proposed to “end the military adventures and regime-change wars, like the one in Ukraine.”
Unless deficit spending ceases, the U.S. will continue to accumulate more debt. The latest data indicates that the U.S. national debt has now surged past a staggering $34 trillion.
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Jing is an investment reporter for MoneyWise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
