Saxena 8
Sarthak Saxena
Ms. Kilback
Honors English 9
4 March 2014
A New View to the American Economy
The military intervention of America in foreign countries is often condemned, and widely debated around the country. Many citizens are fed up by the extensive expenditures the government carries out on wars that are hardly, if at all, related directly to the country. The constantly increasing expenditure in this department has led to a flat line in the standard of life and has caused the idea of global peace to be virtually nonexistent. As a result, many people believe that America should stop investing in war and should rather invest in technological innovationists like NASA.
Since 2001, America has spent more than $1.5 trillion on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone, and this figure does not cover any sting operations, any retribution paid due to misconduct by the military, or the cost of maintaining bases.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Oval Office
English: Spending on U.S. healthcare as a percenta...
English: NASA contractor spending by stateSo what exactly is all of this money spent on? All of the $1.5 trillion has been spent on paychecks for soldiers or for buying ballistic or hand held armament for fighting the war. In contrast, NASA, the government owned, non-tax exempt technological industry, has just spent a meager $530 billion dollars -after operating for more than 50 years! When the benefits from the two are compared, NASA by far beats the military. Since its operations started in 1958, NASA has helped over 3 million small time businesses grow without asking the owners to pay a single cent. NASA has also led the country in national security, providing thousands of innovations that are vital to security. It is the conglomerate behind laser-heart surgery, and behind spreading Earth's influence to the moon. If NASA was allowed a more extensive budget, then the economic and technological possibilities would...