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Slate, you are mixing apples and oranges here. GDP is our gross domestic product. That is, the valuation of all goods and services produced annually in the United States. Heaven help us all if the federal government ever decides that it has the right to spend all of the monies earned from the goods and services produced in the US. So to say that 'the government spends 96% of the funds on other things that aren't put forth in the Constitution' is grossly inaccurate.
At 4.06% of GDP, U.S. military spending ranked 27th out of 172 nations.[49] The official Department of Defense budget in 2006, $419.3 billion, was a 5% increase over 2005.[50]
2.8 trillion dollars for the Fed gov. they spend 419.3 Billion that leaves 2,380,700,000,000,,,,,, I know I went to the Jethro Bodine Skool of math but it seems there is still a bunch of money left after the DOD gets their share of it,,,,, but hey apples and oranges are expensive these days
As a percentage of discretionary funds (i.e. minus the trust funds of social Security and medicare)war funding (DOD) is more like HALF. Add in small items such as the DOD's share of the debt service (yes, Bush's war is being paid for by DEBT), VA costs Military housing and it is WAY OVER HALF of the discretionary funds.
Also, the U.S. government does not have control of "the other 96% of the G.D.P"
Now hold on Quack,,, the numbers are right above you,,,, debt loans are debt loans,,,, yes we have a huge debt,,,, this nation has had debt in the past, especially during expensive wars. Whether you agree with the war is moot in what I'm talking about. The GDP of the US is roughly 10 trillion and we give the government almost a third of that right now. How much do you think they deserve?
I know the government doesn't control the GDP 'yet', but I've heard of at least one candidate that thinks that taking what is perceived by one party as evil profits to be redistributed. But we know what that means, you and I won't see a dime of it and said party will use it as play money to wield power and buy votes. You know like the last administration promising to give the middle class a tax break, yet after 'working as hard as they have in their life' decided that the only way is to raise taxes. Don't you find it funny that the same thing is being said by them right now? Do you believe them this time too?