First, GDP is a dumb metric to use and doesn’t actually matter when talking about government spending.
And second, for 2015, the US government chose to spend 54% of our discretionary budget on the military. It’s 16% of our overall 2015 budget (which includes discretionary and mandatory spending), but social security, Medicare, and Medicaid (all part of mandatory spending) essentially run on auto pilot as far as spending goes (because it’s determined by how many people are eligible to receive the benefits).
First, GDP is a dumb metric to use and doesn’t actually matter when talking about government spending.
And second, for 2015, the US government chose to spend 54% of our discretionary budget on the military. It’s 16% of our overall 2015 budget (which includes discretionary and mandatory spending), but social security, Medicare, and Medicaid (all part of mandatory spending) essentially run on auto pilot as far as spending goes (because it’s determined by how many people are eligible to receive the benefits).
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/aug/17/facebook-posts/pie-chart-federal-spending-circulating-internet-mi/
So when Congress is determining where to send government money, they’re choosing to allot 54% of the budget they’re able to change to the military.