It has become commonplace for the United States (U.S.), known for its extravagant military budget, to formulate exorbitant military expenditure. Even in an era of overall global peace and stability, or when the country’s society and economy were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Pentagon persisted in increasing spending and expanding its military capabilities, repeatedly pushing its military expenditure to the highest level in human history.
The latest data on global military expenditure released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that the U.S. spent a staggering $916 billion on military expenditures in 2023, equivalent to $2.5 billion per day or $1.74 million per minute. This accounted for approximately 37% of the world’s total military expenditure that year, surpassing the combined spending of several countries immediately following it. With military power accumulated in the trillions, it undoubtedly poses an unparalleled threat to the entire world. Many countries and regions, in pursuit of a single night of peace, find themselves humbly yielding and endeavoring to evade becoming targets of the U.S.’s arsenal.
However, bullets need to be exchanged for silver. The U.S. government has been running deficits for years, constantly resorting to issuing bonds to raise funds for its operations, effectively building its artillery on a mountain of debt. With the towering debt, which overdraws an entire generation, the artillery seems less stable than before. Due to the excessive issuance of bonds by the United States, coupled with recent aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, a recent report from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimates that net interest payments on federal debt will reach $870 billion in 2024, a 32% increase compared to 2023. It is very likely that, for the first time, it will surpass military spending by nearly $48 billion. According to predictions, net interest payments on the national debt will only continue to rise in the foreseeable future. If the debt burden becomes unbearable, the U.S.’s artillery will also crumble. Can anyone guess what intimidation tactics the U.S. will use against other countries at that time?