The "Warfare State" Has Consumed the Middle Class

The United States spends roughly $800 billion a year on defense; the People's Republic of China, about $146 billion. The Russian Federation lays out around $55 billion, annualized, while the Islamic Republic of Iran's military spend annualizes at $15 billion - not accounting for the crippling 13%-plus inflation it's experiencing. Finding reliable figures for military expenditures of Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, or the tattered remnants of al-Qaeda and ISIS would be a waste of time. It's enough to say that not a single one of these state and non-state actors can reasonably be expected to show up on our shores, "D-Day style," at any point in the near future. And if you expect any of these adversaries might come ashore, cannons blazing, in Cleveland, or San Francisco, or Austin, or Bismarck, N.D., then I respectfully submit you may be watching a little too much cable news. And in the slightly more likely event that one of these foes were to, say, set off a dirty bomb in any of these places, it's doubtful an extra aircraft carrier would prevent it. And yet, if the manifestly stupid, hopelessly censored mainstream media - run by just five conglomerates - were to be believed, hordes of jihadist enemies are closing in from all sides, moments away from striking. Then again, this pale shadow of a legitimate Fourth Estate has also - just as dangerously - confused an East Coast stock bubble for real, widespread prosperity and strength. No, folks, the real danger to American security and prosperity - what's left of it, at least - is safely ensconced, thriving in its ultimate evil, right here... Tags: washington To get full access to all Money Morning content, click here About Money Morning: Money Morning gives you access to a team of ten market experts with more than 250 years of combined investing experience – for free . Our experts – who have appeared on FOXBusiness, CNBC, NPR, and BloombergTV – deliver daily investing tips and stock picks, provide analysis with actions to take, and answer your biggest market questions. Our goal is to help our millions of e-newsletter subscribers and Moneymorning.com visitors become smarter, more confident investors. Disclaimer: © 2018 Money Morning and Money Map Press. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including the world wide web), of content from this webpage, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Money Morning. 16 W. Madison St. Baltimore, MD, 21201. The post The "Warfare State" Has Consumed the Middle Class appeared first on Money Morning - We Make Investing Profitable .