Military expenditures by the U.S. government represent over 1/3 of the total amount of WORLD military expenditures annually. This is corporate welfare of staggering proportions--and to what end? To create the illusions of security and prosperity at home and to further imperial ambitions abroad. And because the military-industrial-complex is careful to enrich the members of Congress, the federal government's imperial subjects (the so-called "free citizens of the republic") are powerless to do anything about it. During our brief flirtation with republican values (in the 18th century), we were warned about the dangers that "standing armies" pose to democracies. The U.S. today is a textbook example of what happens when those warnings go unheeded.
