The U.S. Defense Budget: The Numbers

SECURITY PERIMETER - U.S. Army soldiers move out of the drop zone and set up a security perimeter during Talisman Saber 2011 after parachuting out of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and into the Shoalwater Bay training area in Queensland Australia, July 17, 2011. The exercise trains U.S. and Australian forces to plan and conduct combined operations to improve combat readiness and interoperability on a variety of missions, including conventional conflict, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance effort U.S. Air Force photo by MSgt Michele A. Desrochers

An Eye-Opening Peek at the Pentagon's Weird Budget Math -- Time

If you've been paying attention, you may have heard that President Obama has pledged to cut $400 billion out of security spending between now and 2023. But what you may not know is that the $400 billion won't be a cut as far as Joe and Jane Taxpayer are concerned. Todd Harrison, Washington's defense-budget wizard, says letting Pentagon spending grow along with inflation, between now and 2023, actually will yield more than the $400 billion in savings Obama is seeking. Keep your eye on the ball here: the $400 billion in cuts aren't cuts as you and I understand them -- they are reductions in the projected future rate of growth. And because defense spending has close to doubled over the past decade -- with future spending increases folded into future budget plans as naturally as dew forms on the morning grass -- the U.S. military finds trimming its future spending to the rate of inflation a near-death experience.

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My Comment: Bottom line ... don't count on cutting the U.S. defense budget to balance the budget.