| Scott talks to Ryan McMaken about the true costs of America’s “national security” state, both in dollars and in secondary effects on the daily lives of Americans. Even though the official number is quite a bit lower, McMaken has estimated the true cost of the U.S. military and intelligence apparatus at close to a trillion dollars per year, since we should be factoring in things like Department of Energy funding that goes to nuclear weapons, medical costs for the VA, and the budgets of Homeland Security organizations. This whole system has other, even more insidious effects, that most people don’t notice, including a general slowing of the economy due to inflation and artificial interest rates, a more dangerous world where America makes enemies by picking fights where it doesn’t have to, and the slow militarization of our entire society.
Ryan McMaken is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. He has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre. Check out the interview page here: https://libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/9-13-19-ryan-mcmaken-on-americas-underfunded-trillion-dollar-military/ For more on Scott’s work: You can also support Scott’s work by making a one-time or recurring donation at https://scotthorton.org/donate/ |
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