Grenade or Aid?

GRENADE OR AID? U.S. Military Spending Versus Foreign Aid Development assistance spending and military spending appear to promote two contradictory sets of values: one that builds and one that dismantles. Where do you think the U.S. government allocates more of its funding? U.S. MILITARY SPENDING $698 (O U.S. FOREIGN AID SPENDING* $19 0.6% INCLUDES: INCLUDES: TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING Military arms and Disaster relief, long IN THE 2010 FISCAL YEAR: equipment, weapons term poverty reduction, $3.45O PERCENT OF hunger prevention, and human rights programs. PERCENT OF research, nuclear FEDERAL BUDGET: PER CAPITA: security. cyber security. FEDERAL BUDGET: PER CAPITA: $2,243.25 and various State TRILLION BILLION 20% BILLION $61.06 Department programs. 2.3% 2.5% 2.8% 2.8% 3.3% 3.6% 3.6% 3.7% COMPARED TO OTHER FIRST WORLD NATIONS, 7.3% 0.19% 0.20% 0.20% 0.21% 0.25% 0.27% 0.29% 0.32% 0.38% 0.38% 0.42% U.S. JAPAN GREECE ITALY PORTUGAL NEW AUSTRALIA CANADA ZEALAND FRANCE GERMANY AUSTRIA 0.80% 0.82% 0.88% 0.99% the U.S.A. commits 0.42% 0.43% 0.43% 0.43% 0.48% 0.50% less of its gross 25.3% domestic product to foreign development assistance. SWITZERLAND SPAIN FINLAND IRELAND U.K. BELGIUM NETHERLANDS DENMARK NORWAY SWEDEN HEY, BIG SPENDER! 42.8% AMERICANS OVERESTIMATE FOREIGN AID SPENDING, BUT WANT CUTS The United States continues to be the Ilargest Recent polls show most Americans overestimate how much of the budget is dedicated to foreign aid, and would rather cut aid than defense. military spender in absolute terms, claiming nearly WHEN ASKED 43 percent of worldwide military expenditures. "What percent of the "What percent of the ACTUAL When Gallup asked Americans whether they With this figure, it usurps China-the next highest federal budget goes federal budget should PERCENT USED favor or oppose spending cuts in various spender-by nearly six times. to foreign aid?" go to foreign aid?" ON FOREIGN AID government programs, 59 percent, the majority, PUBLIC MEDIAN RESPONSE 0.6% want government budget cuts in the area of foreign aid, while 57 percent oppose cuts in 25% 10% military and national defense. SOURCES: SIPRI | GALLUP | CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE USAID.GOV | DEPARTMENT OF STATE FY2010 | BANKRUPTINGAMERICA.ORG WORLDPUBLICOPINION.ORG | CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE | US CENSUS BUREAU OECD GATESFOUNDATION.ORG *NON-MILITARY A COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOOD AND COLUMN FIVE REST OF THE WORLD COMBINED U.S. CHINA U.K FRANCE RUSSIA JAPAN SAUDI ARABIA GERMANY INDIA A ITALY