[feedforward]

Very narrowly defined the DoD spent ~$750 billion in 2023 (over 800 billion). This doesn't count over $300 billion in veteran's benefits. Nor does it count Department of Energy military nuclear expenditures, nor tens of billions of military/intelligence spending in non DoD departments. Then when we look at the $800 billiom interest on the debt, a chunk of that is for unpaid military spending from last year and the years before.

This idea that military spending is not a large chunk of the budget is only when one has a very, very narrow definition of military spending.

[icegreentea2]

The military and defense related spending absolutely is a very large chunk. I think your accounting is fair and better than mine. I did not mean to imply that defense funding was "small", only that defense funding is not the overwhelming gorilla that many people seem to think it is.