The War Party Has Champagne Tastes On A Beer Budget

Full Citation: Meisel, C. (2024, January 2). The War Party Has Champagne Tastes On A Beer Budget. Responsible Statecraft. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-military-budget/

Undaunted by the challenges posed by providing historic levels of aid to Ukraine while also supporting Israel’s campaign against Hamas, U.S. President Joe Biden defiantly declared recently on 60 Minutes: “We’re the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history — not in the world, in the history of the world.”

True. But to pretend that U.S. capabilities aren’t being strained is to ignore reality. Forecasts of relative material capabilities point to a reality that will become even harsher. America’s relative geopolitical advantage is shrinking. As such, the affordability of maintaining U.S. dominance the world over will increasingly come into question.

Unfortunately, President Biden’s assertion is reflective of a broadly held attitude. Many in the U.S. national security community on both sides of the political aisle have beer money and champagne tastes.