I got so worked up in this video that I lost my beard. How do _you_ feel about the military industrial complex? Sponsorship information: AdGuard VPN on SALE! Use promo code MRBEAT to get a 2-year subscription plan with 83% OFF - agrd.io/mrbeat Limited time offer!
One of the most shocking facts that I ever learned is that the Department of Defense not only has the distinction of being the only Government body to never pass a single audit, but in their most recent audit, they were unable to account for a shocking 61% of their assets. People shouldn't be screaming from the rooftops that we could permanently end homelessness and hunger in America almost eighteen times over with the money that we spent on our military in a single year. People should be screaming from the rooftops that we could permanently end homelessness and hunger almost _ELEVEN_ times over with the money that *_WENT MISSING_* in a single year. *_Edit:_*_ Okay so I was slightly wrong about this. Huge thanks to the ONE person who explained my mistake without talking down on me and treating me like an idiot. But yes, the pentagon did not lose 61% of its $800 million+ dollar budget in a single year. It actually lost 61% of its combined $3.5 trillion in total assets that it had accumulated over many decades. Out of the 27 areas investigated, only seven of them passed._
Yeah, if If I have the obligation to pay taxes the government has the obligation of telling me where my money ends up, and if I have to be honest about my taxes they have to be honest about where they spend my money.
It took the Department of Homeland Security 10 years to pass its audit, the DOD is 10x larger than homeland. It should do better, but still this isn't as crazy as I think you're making it out to be. Not being able to account for something in an audit doesn't mean missing!
It's crazy how when things like universal healthcare and free college tuition are proposed, only thing you hear on the media is "where will that money come from" but when it comes to military spending no one questions it
im a believer of a good military. the us being the world police beats russia or china but yeah i think it would be better if more funds went to healthcare and college. i read up somewhere that the military spending is inefficient and wasteful
In 2022 we spent ~$767 billion on national defense. Same year the us federal government spent $755 billion on just Medicare. Universal healthcare will be a process much larger than national defense and the sector is 20% of the us economy. It really is a more complicated question since creating such a system is much more difficult than funding an existing one.
There's a simple solution to this problem and that is to hold the department of defense accountable by eliminating the waste they could easily cut the bloated military budget in half. The same thing can be said about our government healthcare system by simply cutting the waste and fraud they could easily cut the bloated budget in half. For the love of money is the root of all evil.
I was disillusioned as a young officer, when i realized most senior officers cared more about their next promotion than making Afghanistan a better country. That sounds obvious but what shattered my vission if the war was that decisions were made that were detrimental to the overall mission, so that the commanders could look better and get a better shot at climbing rank.
@@iammrbeatwould love for you do a video on world military spending from a PPP angle + benefits/pay (which is like $200 billion of defense spending). We spend way more per solidier both while they’re active (for pay & individual gear) as well as retirement benefits; I realized why other countries have to force people to serve after I learned the massive difference. Anyway, with that info included in a ppp analysis: US spending isn’t quite as outrageous as it seems on the face of it. I enjoy your perspective, not to mention your talent for simplifying complex subjects 🙂
"I want to talk about the war in the Persian Gulf.. big doings in the Persian Gulf, you know my favorite part of that war? It was the first war we ever had that was on every channel plus cable and the war got good ratings too didn't it?. well we like war were a warlike people, we like war because we're good at it, you know why were good at it? because we get a lot of practice. This country's only two hundred years old already and we've had ten major Wars. We average a major war every twenty years in this country so we're good at it and it's a good thing we are we ain't good at anything else anymore; can't build a decent car, can't make a TV set or a VCR worth a f***, got no steel industry left, can't educate our young people, can't get healthcare to our old people but we can bomb the s*** out of your country alright huh? Especially if your country is full of brown people, oh! we like that don't we? That's our hobby, that's our new job in the world: bombing brown people. Iraq, Panama, Grenada, Lybia you got some brown people in your country tell them to watch the f*** out or we'll goddamn bomb them! Well when was the last white people you can remember that we bombed? Can you remember the last white.....can you remember ANY white people we've ever bombed? The Germans, those the only ones and that's because they were trying to cut in on our action they wanted to dominate the world BULLSHIT THAT'S OUR F****** JOB! Now, we only bomb brown people not because they're trying to cut in on our action just because they're brown. Now you've probably noticed I don't feel about that war the way we were told to feel about that war the way we were ordered and instructed by the United States government to feel about that war. You see I tell you my mind doesn't work that way. I got this real moron thing I do; it's called THINKING! and I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions. I don't just roll over when I'm told to. Sad to say, most Americans roll over on command not me I have certain rules I live by; my first rule is: I don't believe anything the government tells me... nothing, zero, no. And I don't take very seriously the Media or the Press in this country who in the case of the Persian Gulf War were nothing more than unpaid employees of the department of defence and who most of the time, most of the time functioned as an unofficial public relations agency to the US government. So I don't listen to them and I really don't believe in my country and I got to tell you folks I don't get all choked up about yellow ribbons and American flags because I consider them to be symbols and I leave symbols to the symbol minded. Me? I look at war a bit differently. To me war is a lot of prick waving okay. Simple thing that's all it is. War is a whole lot of man standing out in the field waving their pricks at one another. Men are insecure about the size of their dicks and so they have to kill one another over the idea. That's what all that a****** jock bulshit is about. That's what all that adolescent macho-male posturing and strutting in bars and locker rooms is all about is called Dick fear. Men are terrified that their pricks are inadequate and so they have to compete with one another to feel better about themselves and since Wars the ultimate competition, basically, men are killing each other to in order to improve their self-esteem. You don't have to be a historian or political scientist to see the bigger dick foreign policy theory at work, it sounds like this "WHAT?! they have bigger dicks? BOMB THEM!" and of course the rockets and the bombs and the bullets are all shaped like dicks, it's a subconscious need to project the penis into other people's affairs, it's called F****** WITH PEOPLE! So as far as I'm concerned that whole thing in the Persian Gulf is nothing more than one biiiig prick waving dick fight. In this particular case Saddam Hussein had questioned the size of George Bush's dick and George Bush has been called a wimp for so long - "wimp" rhymes with "limp" - George has been called wimp for so long that he has to act out his manhood fantasies by sending other people's children to die. Even the name Bush, even the name bush is related to the genitals without being the genitals. A bush is sort of a passive secondary sex characteristic. Now if this man's name had been George Boner...well he would have felt a little better about himself and we wouldn't had any trouble over there in the first place. This whole country has a manhood problem, biiiig manhood problem in the USA. You can tell from the language we use, language always gives you away. What did we do wrong in Vietnam? We pulled out! huh?.. Not a very manly thing to do is it? When you're f****** people, you got to stay there and f*** them good, f*** them all the way, f*** until the end, f****** to death, f****** to death, f****** the death.. stay in there and keep f****** them until they're all dead! We left a few women and children alive in Vietnam and we haven't felt good about ourselves since. That's why in the Persian Gulf George Bush had to say "This will not be another Vietnam" he actually use these words, he said: "This time we're going all the way" imagine an American president using the sexual slang of a thirteen-year-old to describe his foreign policy? If you want to know what happened in the Persian Gulf just remember the names of the two men who were running that war: Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, somebody got f***** in the ass" - We like War / George Carlin
Thanks Mr. Beat. Just imagine how much infrastructure rebuilding in the US we could have done with all that money spent on the "rebuilding" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Breaks your heart.
@@doctorothon universal free healthcare would cost less in taxes than it costs in insurance premiums. We wouldn't even have to cut the military budget for it. Of course I'm all for cutting the military funding by a huge amount, leaving little more than enough to fund care and rewards for our veterans
@@TheModdedwarfare3 absolutely constant cuts to the VA and reps call themselves the veteran party and “support our troops” they’re not supporting anyone but oligarchs
As a vet, I can tell you this money doesn't go to us. It goes to PMCs. The current and last Secretary of Defense took jobs at PMCs after they retired from the military. 😑
@nasis18 not PMC's lol. Mercenaries aren't cheap man for man compared to a uniformed soldier, but that doesn't mean very much. I cost 80k dollars for my first year in the army, that's everything including my barracks, basic training, ammo for the range, toilet paper, you name it. 1 year of me is cheaper than a hmmwv. Meanwhile a B2 spirit costs 2 billion dollars just to buy in the first place, not including fuel, maintenance, security, officers making 6 figure salaries to fly it, etc. Pmc's have some nice hardware and the individual is much more expensive, but it's nothing compared to the air force or navy. This guy's nuts.
@@davidbeasley962 PMCs doesn't just entail "mercenaries," but any private military contractor or corporation that has government contracts with the DoD. These companies routinely way overcharge the military for many different things. The politicians won't crack down on this because they are in the companies back pocket. The B2, like you mentioned, is expensive, but it doesn't help that companies gouge the military on parts and other things to keep that equipment running. The DoD can't account for trillions of dollars and have failed their last 6 audits in a row.
@@davidbeasley962 right because Huntington Ingalls Industries isn’t a private military corporation… wait I’m not retarded! Yes they are! And guess who is a giant shareholder there? Black Rock! Guess what they do????? FUND ALL KIKDS OF US PMC BULLSHIT SUMBASS
Honestly when faced with such massive systems like the military industrial complex, it's hard to believe that my vote can do anything. I think it's why a lot of people don't engage in politics anymore, because there are political machines too large for us to even comprehend.
@@iammrbeat We would have power if we all agreed to not pay taxes if they didn’t fix something or if we didn’t go to work as a country or a large majority
I was stationed in Honduras. my drill Sergeant didn’t believe that the base existed. He thought that there was an error in my transfer orders. one day our section SGT. came looking for volunteers to do search and rescue training. None of us were qualified for the training but he insisted that some of us sign up anyway. I talked to him later about why we were running training exercises with personal who weren’t ever gonna actually engage in that kind of action. He told me that had to have the training so that they could justify their budget. Basically, they were worried that if they didn’t waste the money this year they wouldn’t have the money to waste next year. That’s how military financing works
The cia is the worst branch of government ever started in 1947. Just Google , CIA scandals. And remember it's not torture, it is enhanced interrogation. WTF!
@@howardman3926 the purpose of China's few military bases are not for greed or world dominance but as a defence against the insanity of the US n its vassal states like Britain, Australia n Canada etc.
Please continue to make more videos similar to this topic, it’s so great putting a spotlight on issues like these that don’t get much attention in mainstream media even though these kinds of issues affect EVERYONE.
We don't have to be spicy and name names because then well-intentioned people will hate instead of picking up on (respective) constructive elements of our suggestions. The truth is you can't serve these many masters, and it's why we're kept so disoriented and divided. There is so much effort put into personal interests that our interests are neglected. Love is the only truth and everything else is an illusion - a Shooter Jennings quote
Thank you so much for this Mr. Beat. This video was needed. So many Americans, including my family members, support the military industrial complex. Politicians and corporations are getting rich off our huge military and war. We can use the military money to help our people yet instead we just continue filling the pockets of politicians. We really need change in this country. And it all starts at the local level. We need young people to get involved in politics and we need to pass policies such as rank choice voting and ending gerrymandering to elect politicians from neither of the two corporate parties and make real change.
Starting at the local level wont do anything. Regardless of how honest and hard working a local politician is, he or she still needs a lot of capital to run at the national level. To run, you need special interest money. To get reelected, you need special interest money. In order to rid this influence, you need campaign finance reform, which will never happen since the special interests give kickbacks to the politicians. When it comes down to brass tax, a politician will put financial wellbeing over country any day of the week - and there's a reason politicians are allowed to trade stocks and never seem to get audited. We've gone from the founding of the Union, when Congressional seats were part-time roles with frequent turnover to today, where these dinosaurs sit in these positions for 20+ years and magically 10-100X their personal wealth during their time in office...
Instead of voting people in (who can lie and turn on a dime) we should be able to vote on individual bills and issues..like other countries do. And not let elected officials appoint people to serve for a lifetime because after elections, all appointed personnel is driven by special interests. Believe it or not we don't have much voting power when it comes to real change because individuals can be persuaded, bought out and corrupted
One of the takeaways from reading "Duty" by Robert Gates, who served as Defense Secretary under both Presidents Bush and Obama, was his frustration with the military procurement process. Too many in Congress see it more as a jobs program, and that is why they often fund weapons systems that the Pentagon neither needs nor wants, if it means jobs and money for their states and districts. And when there was a move to close some unnecessary military bases, the politics of the situation made it impossible to approach in any kind of rational manner. I don't know what the answer is, but I certainly became convinced that we could maintain the world's most powerful military forces while spending a lot less money. (He also argued for spending more on the State Department and diplomacy, noting that preventing war is almost always a lot cheaper -- even in just dollars, let alone lives -- than fighting it. It was a refreshing view from a former Defense Secretary.)
to your last point, yes, but if you don't have a strong military people will start wars with you anyway. America should (and imo has) stop trying to be the words policemen and move onto private security for it's allies.
The military gets bent over at the point of sale for just about everything from fighters to a roll of paper towels. If you could see some of the invoices for simple items that claim to be Military Grade you’d probably want to throw up. I remember climbing into the back of one of our smaller helicopters where the Rescue Swimmer sits to get a feel for how cramped it was back there, when he told me how much that 4” foam cushion cost I refused to believe him. It’s a little 2’x2’ quick drying seat cushion and the price tag is mind boggling! I wish I could remember the amount but just think of a high end price for a fancy cushion and multiply that by 20.
One might have difficulty believing the other nations are negotiating in good faith. After the cold war we stopped producing uranium pits. Other nations didn't stop accumulating warheads and arms just because there was a treaty. Refusal to allow inspections, hidden operations not observable by satellite or aerial photo kept these efforts up as the U.S. presumably continued to act in good faith. So the question is this: given that we're actually now behind in warheads and uranium pits to create the proper detonation cycle as China and Russia aid Iran and North Korea while outpacing us, why do you think diplomacy could work?
@@EagleZoo I don’t see how any country can truly trust that the US is operating in good faith based on our history of self service at the expense of everyone else.
“Free school lunches? Maternity leave? Homelessness? Stronger social safety nets?” “Nah too expensive” “$813 Billion for military spending?” “Not enough let’s make it $840 billion”
When I was in college, I went to a lecture from someone who was stationed at the pentagon. Someone asked: that is a big building. What exactly goes on there? His reply was that the pentagon was just a giant buying operation. There were as many as 150,000 people whose job was just to buy items. From tanks to bbq grills.
My uncle is an architect in the airforce and has been for a long time. He's designed many of the overseas bases and wrote a book on the subject of how much our bases are ruining the local areas. He's a staunch conservative, so the fact he wrote a book on the subject says a lot Edit: I took his name out of my comment, because I don't trust people in comment sections not to seek him out
Not to mention, having military presence in other people's homeland does not create a good look. Making a country seem nosey to the point where they can militarily intervene in foreign places doesn't exactly make locals feel safe about their OWN domestic space and sovereignty.
@@iammrbeat the book is called America town: building the outposts of empire. Mr beat, you're a kansas guy right? I am also, and that uncle is actually a KU grad
Your uncle probably got indoctrinated by woke propaganda…the reason the us military is the best the best…is becouse we have the most bases and beeen in the most wars…so stop your privledged woke narrative and be grateful you live in the bet country in the world
Former aircraft mechanic here. We spend so much because we get overcharged. I remember working on a new system where we had to use the specialized clamps that were a hundred bucks each. Know what was a good substitute for those when we ran out? Zip strips. The kind you get at the dollar store. Contractors are a *drain* on the military, far and away.
That's literally the point. It's not that having a military is bad, it's that military industry profiteering is super corrupt. It kind of raises questions about whether or not profit is even good at all...
You may have been a FAA mechanic but you don’t seem to all too well informed. EVERY part is built to specification, and specified for use by the government. All of their parts, systems, and end products are complex and subject to rigorous inspection and testing. You think a contractor specified the clamps? No, they just made them. Make to order, especially new systems, are produced in low volume which drives costs due to economies of scale. Also, all contractors are profit regulated and financially audited basically non stop by multiple government agencies. It’s expensive to do business with the government, so many regulations and risks.
Even before Eisenhower, USMC General Butler called war a racket and said that for most of his 30 plus years career he felt like a high class muscle man for big business.
The US doesn't have government run healthcare because the quality of care is much higher at a private doctor. And since the US has a higher per capita income than Europe, Americans can afford this higher standard of care. The European government run system is not designed to be of higher quality; it's designed to be cheaper. Even the people that advocate such a system here--I mean serious people, not college students who know nothing but think they know everything--speak in terms of getting costs under control. No serious person argues that a government run system results in higher quality of care, because that's absurd. Communist countries had terrible quality of care. The British NHS is notorious for red tape and long waits for appointments. Doctors get paid slave wages, which reduces the quality of people entering the profession.
@@Entertainment_Station_ES How shocking that many would rather have lower quality of care that covers everyone rather than high quality care that only helps some.
@@Iamnotimaginative Virtually everyone in the US who is willing to work has health insurance. Those who can't or won't have access to government programs (Medicaid, Medicare). The main issue facing the healthcare system, again, is costs, not quality of care or access. And the single thing driving the costs is obesity, which is an economic (rare case of too much affluence causing a problem) and cultural problem, not a problem with the healthcare system. We don't need a terrible, government run healthcare system. We need to stop eating ourselves to death.
The fiscal irresponsibility of the US government when it comes to the military has been appalling for as long as I can remember... he's right... 80 years. That Eisenhower warning wasn't enough.
We're BROKE. This has got to be one of the most irresponsible constructs ever. The U.S. is the only country in the history of the world to not use it's own military to guard it's own border. I've honestly thought about emigrating!
@@josephinetracy1485 Wait, do you support the right to travel freely around the world, or do you support locking everybody inside feudal state borders. It sounds like both at the same time. You can't emigrate, because other countries won't let you in... because... well... you know... they secured their borders. Either you support the right to travel and the freedom of movement around the planet, or you stand against it...
@@josephinetracy1485Well, you are welcome to answer. Just remember, securing borders is a double edge sword and can work against you just as well. If the US secures it's border against Mexico and Canada, for example... Mexico and Canada will turn right around and secure it's border against the US. And then you won't be able to vacation in either, or... well... leave... at least not by a land route. You could fly to another country, but if the US doesn't allow immigrants from that country, that country will turn around tit for tat and do the same, so as soon as you'll land you'll be directed to fly right back where you came from.... And then we have a planet locked down into feudal nation states like feudal Europe, where nobody can travel and is tied to the land.
This is a fantastic and well put together video. I love how it explains the details of the industrial-military complex. I would of also added that military industries also influence the media, which then influences the movie industry and pop culture. War and The military are glorified in America and that's something that's going to be hard to change.
I've been noticing an awful lot of military propaganda on the evening news in the past several months. Stuff like touring aircraft carriers, fearmongering about how underprepared we are for China invading Taiwan, even complaining about jobs for military spouses. Funny how the solution for all those problems seems to be "spend more money on the military."
The MIC runs deep, literally so pervasive that it's engrained into our very culture. The Department of Defense often loans its equipment to movie studios to use in filming (think like a helicopter in an action movie or jets in top gun). As a prerequisite for using their equipment the DoD will review scripts for the movies they lend equipment to and will withhold equipment if there is something in the script they don't approve of (i.e. usually something that is critical of the military). There are literally internally released transcripts from the DoD that admit to doing this. So yes the MIC does influence our media and films, which in turn has a massive impact on American culture.
War being glorified is a tradition dating back since the rise of tribes and civilization. It’s a great honor to serve your people and sacrifice if need be. I experienced combat in Afghanistan and I don’t want to be part of it again. However I would still do it for America. Watching war movies inspires people to serve and to be some body, this is why I joined the Marines. But many of these films show the bad side of war which is the main lesson.
I remember a story about a guy who was in the Navy on a ship, and he said as they were on their way back to the US, they were told to throw a bunch of perfectly fine, in working condition, expensive equipment overboard before they arrived to port so they could justify more funding.
This story is most convincing as is, without details, dates, places, or sources. Today's lower-educated citizens eat it up, wanting endless free stoff handed out personally. In fact, let's just say the crew sunk the entire ship before reaching port to 'JUSTIFY MORE SPENDING".
One thing that’s interesting is the types of training the military gives also affects the economy. In Australia for example, the only place that offers training to become a licensed demolition expert is the military. You would probably find that in the US, the main source of training for some niche essential services is the military.
I read that pilots are also usually poached by private sector after Air Force trains and gives them valuable experience. 🔺💯 Private security, security consultants is also another skill that benefits from the military. I cant think of places outside the military and law enforcement that can give experience in actual combat.
After having been on the inside of the Military Industrial Complex pretty much my whole adult life, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of military spending is both unnecessary and is basically nothing more than a way to distribute money across America via govt spending.
Well, distributes money to the company owners and to the government. But that it won't be spent on the betterment of society makes it kind of useless to us.
hello mr beat! thank you for pointing out what to me seems obvious, but some are not as worried about it as i feel they should be. i continue to share your videos with my teachers and they are often shown to our classes. great work!!
People sleeping under every bridge in this country. Gas and food are nearly unaffordable. But we always have money for war. Thanks for speaking up on this issue Mr. Beat . Hopefully youtube doesn't demonotize this video for speaking truth to power.
This was an EXCELLENT video. It was presented in a fun, fast, clear way that made me understand the full gravity of the situation, and it ended with an ACTUAL call to action unlike nearly every other video essay I've seen on this platform. I love how the video ACTUALLY TAKES A SIDE and explains why the side is correct and what you should do. Keep up the good work, man, I LOVE this content.
The best solution would be... 1; Banning politicians, government official, and military officials from owning stocks in any companies That have Contracts with the u s government. 2; Ban companies that have contracts with the u s government for making political contributions to either political campaigns or political action committees. 3; Ban all politicians snd members of the military from receiving any type of gift from Defense contractors or defense lobbyists.
Better idea: if we're going to have troops in a country, we must have declared war upon them. And upon any declaration of war, the draft is in effect for all persons aged between 18 and 40. No deferments, no exceptions. Somehow, I think that every person being faced with their kids being sent off somewhere will do a lot to blunt the appetite for foreign adventure.
This will bring more problems than its worth, as the Video points out the US Needs its Military to exert such a massive influence in Foreign Politics, doing this would mean Contractors would also move to other ventures likely her enemies included. The Problem is yeah encentives but this pushes the dial way too much to the opposite direction.
Not a year has gone by where I hadn't felt a degree of disappointment with how disproportionately America's discretionary spending goes to war. It just feels like an unwavering fixation, regardless of how loud or quiet the call to action for war is. I would like to see the money go towards something a bit more altruistic like environmental concerns, the healthcare system, or in the pockets of hard working Americans who are good enough at math to know they are being ripped off by the stagnancy of wages that should have been bumped years ago. I'm not for defunding the military in a black and white sense, I just think the proportions by which we unquestionably distribute our annual wealth, ought to be scrutinized when children and adults go to sleep hungry. Being too defensive can often come at a cost of the very thing one is defending. Great video Mr. Beat. You're one of the best history channels on YT.
fun fact: if you had the amount of money given every year to the military, you would be able to pay Amtrak's current annual budget for nearly 312 years
Lol not even close. What was meant by that statement was that Prussian society was completely militarized. EVERYTHING was geared towards supporting the military. America is nowhere even remotely close.
@@gingerlicious3500 “The United States is a war machine masquerading as a country whose political class and mass media are so thoroughly brainwashed as to be beyond redemption.” Finian Cunningham
Good point, but stats dont add up. The US military budget's share of total GDP has gone down from 7% during the cold war era to 3.5% today, which is exactly half!
This video was so good I always hated the military industrial complex and this just put it in a thoughtful explanation. Honestly we are so doomed if people continue value killing people over using that amount of money to literally help lives
Either the military industrial complex is to be destroyed, or has its clients dominates the world will the military industrial complex evolve into a triumphal boon, or a vanquished bane humans will remember and record
If you are in the west you benefit directly from the USA huge defense spending. Even if you eliminated DOD spending I don't think you would like the consequences of it.
If you have not done a deep dive into historical civilizations, past global crises (i.e., plagues, wars, famines etc.), and economics, please consider reading more about those topics. While most American citizens are fed up with the politics and do not condone killing, things have been much worse. Since we are exposed to so much information, life appears to be bleak. We can believe that we are doomed or believe in solutions. While there will always be problems, we are actually much better off when it comes to economics, physical and mental health, education, and safety. Mr. Beats did a fantastic job at explaining the industrial complex. While there’s room for improvement, completely changing our current system will produce consequential challenges and problems. It will take time and patience.
@@GMAMEC Radical changes are indeed not the perfect way to transform the military industrial political impasse that tips America from it's narrowing balance
Perhaps the biggest reason why the military-industrial complex persists is that it's a huge source of employment. Not only are there active and reserve military personnel, but there are all the employees of military contractors (and subcontractors, subsubcontractors, etc.) and all the scientists and engineers who rely on research funding from DARPA and related agencies. Even NASA and the Department of Energy owe much of their existence to the military, even though they are civilian agencies. People are not going to vote for Congressional candidates who could put them out of a job.
Even though I know all about this subject for over 30 years plus I still love to see others comments about this. After WW2 our country and the defense industry saw the profitability in War so that's why we are here. Good work 👍.
That's an important topic, and I hope more people get to learn about the military-industrial complex. It helps that Americans seem to grow tired of war, so hopefully this loophole will end. It's funny you mentioned health, education and infrastructure spending, because they're another huge mess that needs to be talked about.
It's worse than that. No one knows how things are made not just tanks, fighter jets, but other mundane things like smart phones, cars, roads, indoor plumbing and food. With Amazon free 2-day shipping people are very much disconnected.
This is my favorite video of yours in a while! I'd love to see a video from you examining how each individual President expanded military power. I did a video a while ago on the powers of the President which touched on that but one of those long form videos you do would really do it justice. Great work!
Great timing on topic Mr. Beat! This 'debt ceiling' issue where NO ONE talks about the massive military spending, plus it increases every year even when the Pentagon has failed *every audit* thus far. Yet Congress wants to add 'work requirements' to SNAP instead of asking for accountability on the many billions of tax payer dollars fueling the military industrial complex. Talk about lazy....
McCarthy and members of the House took military spending and tax increases off the table before negotiations even began. It’s almost like debt and money isn’t the main reason they’re doing this.
@@practicaliching2311 nah bro you can’t be serious. Medicaid costs $100 billion less than the pentagon and SNAP costs $700 billion less, but Republicans have no issue cutting that spending
@@practicaliching2311 It's insanity to use a percentage of GDP when talking about 21st century USA, whose GDP in 2023 is ~$27 TRILLION. Those "only 3.4% of GDP" and "near an all-time low" lines actually translate to ~$857.9 BILLION (the largest figure ever).
Looking back, the country's move further and further away from the very academically driven foundation, to gradual industrialization, to the foundation (via robber barons) of what we have now with superpowered corporations, is disheartening. Never would have those who drafted the Constitution have expected an American private conglomerate to have more power than the king they released themselves from, and never for there to be dozens of such corporations able to overrule sovereign nations.
Pretty much all civilizations have a specific class that holds all the real power. Whether it's the government, religious leaders, bureaucrats, military, or merchant class.
@@iammrbeat True, though by the same idea they can be better organized than some states. Hawaii, Iraq, and Honduras and Nicaragua are examples of private exploitation on unprepared or already disintegrated governmental organizations.
Americans have long hated the idea of their government having too much power. Corporations were able to spin this into people abhorring the government having any control over corporations whatsoever. Power is a zero-sum game. If the government doesn't have it, someone else does.
I think something worth mentioning is the idea of Purchasing Power Parity, meaning that dollar-for-dollar, other countries get more value for their military spending due to the fact that goods and services are cheaper in that country. That makes the US military spending *slightly* less ridiculous, as our peer adversaries spend a lot closer to our $800 billion when you factor this in - for example, China's spending is closer to $500 billion when adjusting for PPP. That said, it is still an outrageous amount, and way higher per capita than any other nation on earth by far. We still should be solving homelessness and domestic issues with our extra billions rather than funding a few more ships, planes, and guns, but unfortunately we probably won't any time soon.
Also important to note that we dont spend the most on our military as a share of our GDP in the world. That would go to Oman which spends 8.8% of its GDP on the military, while we at spot number 14 spend 3.4%.
@@page8301 I think it can be pretty good when trying compare the sizes of countries economies, but I do agree that things like GDP per capita are not always the best indicators of well being. It also creates issues when looking at things like workers who leave their home country to work somewhere else, although that is why we have values like GNP (Gross National Product)
The US isn't number one in military spending per capita (it's number 2 after Israel). Numbers 3 to 8 aren't that far away from the US. The US spends 2,595.44$ per capita compared to Kuwait ,which is number 8, that spends 1,814.21$ per capita.
Now that you have explained the military industrial complex, maybe you could address the homelessness industrial complex. I live in Los Angeles. There is an entire industry devoted to homelessness. The proliferation of taxes and spending, growth of non-profit and government agencies, and the increasing homeless population is a never ending cycle.
I think if they keep spending so much money on the military, then the military should be obligated to do more domestic service projects like taking care of the homeless and getting them back on their feet. Like have military men run soup kitchens or help these people get jobs again
There's some iron triangles for homelessness at the state (CA) and local (LA county & city) levels, sure, but they aren't anywhere near the driving force (like in the MIC). CA (Gov Regan) was closing all its mental institutions around 50 years ago, relying on community treatment facilities, which were never built. Surprise surprise, prison populations swelled with people needing mental health services. Around 10 years ago CA (Gov Brown) released many prisoners, especially those with mental illness and addictions. So guess where they live today? The terrible cycle in play now is that living on the streets is harsh, health issues and addictions only get worse.
His statement at 1:20 is BS. CA's big cities have spent more than that, it hasn't made a dent. $22 billion might be how much it costs to pay for facilities with a number of beds = the number of people living on the streets at the moment, but the govt making that purchase is a far cray from "ending homelessness"
One of the sad parts is that even as the budget jumps by leaps and bounds less and less of it seems to get to a troops. I read some were a surprise amount of soldiers live in food deserts and many are on SNAP.
Great Video Mr. Beat. I am sharing this video because The American People need to be educated on the serious conflict of interest that is going on here with The Military Industrial Complex. Our country has spent trillions of dollars on pointless and stupid wars while The American people including military veterans who have fought in these pointless wars don't even have access to universal healthcare. Thank you for making this video and God Bless. Also In my opinion Mr. Beat should really consider running for public office because we need people like him getting involved in the process to help better the country. I sure hope Mr. Beat is up for the challenge.
Many people in congress literally own large parts of companies in the military industrial complex (a disgustingly high number of them, Johny Harris made a video about exactly that and he linked his sources, including a news article where the journalist who made it compiled a list of precisely what senators and members of the house own shares in defense companies, and basically all, if not all, of those senators and representatives vote to give more lucrative contracts to the companies they own part of)
The companies that handle logistics for Afghanistan war got massive links with both Hillary and that old Kentucky governor or something, I forgot his name. There's nothing to fight for in Afghanistan thats related to US freedoma, but its insanely profitable for military complex to keep the troops there.
Something that should be kept in mind is that the Department of Defense has *_never_* passed a financial audit. Even for a government body, there is an enormous amount of waste in the military. Military members make jokes about it. If the DoD could reign in its waste problems, it could probably continue to operate at the level it currently does while the hundreds of billions of dollars saved could go towards things like education and infrastructure and people on both sides of the debate would be satisfied
3:45 wow I got goosebumps Mr. Beat. So well said! We are losing the battle for democracy imo. Thanks for making videos like these to try and spread the knowledge.
My uncle is a retired lieutenant colonel from the air force. When I asked him what he thought about the military industrial complex he pretended like he didn’t know what it was. Lost a bit of respect for him that day
He’s not going to possibly jeopardize his retirement by giving you his personal opinion. Smart Man. Everyone is a chatty patty and they have social media. Sometimes you have to play dumb
Indeed , lets also not forget about the countless democracies the CIA has overthrown around the globe only to replace them with a Dictatorship that is US "friendly".
This is an absolutely *_fantastic,_* entry-level video that covers *_loads_* of ground in under 20 minutes. Link this to your non-political friends, folks!
I wish someone would explore how the military industrial complex effects American culture. If someone were to, as an American war veteran myself I'd suggest looking into veterans with MOUT training and experience in the police training industry, a possible correlation between mass shootings and/or gun ownership and military glorification in the media, and maybe the effects War on Terrorism veterans have on the Marijuana legalization movement. Love your content.
Everything with this much money in it is sure to become a racket for the pockets of the greedy. Ppl in high positions get lost in decadence and corruption and finally when a bigger dog comes along you're too busy fighting amongst yourselves over personal scraps and then you'd get punk'd like a bch.
@@jonharrison3114 For example, the military industry's outsized influence/control over Congress and the Pentagon means that they prioritize profits over efficiency, even during wartime. And that is just one side of the triangle.
I remember Rush Limbaugh talking about Eisenhower's speech regarding the military industrial complex, but not until now did I have any clue what that meant. The fact that politics has become a career (instead of a brief stint of public service) might have a lot to do with why this happens. Term limits on Congress would make things a lot different, but that isn't likely to happen because we can't expect lawmakers to make laws to impose limitations on their own careers.
Here’s a quote from Chairman Mao that’s extremely relevant. “Ever since world war 2, US imperialism and its allies have been continuously launching wars of aggression. But the people of various countries have been continuously waging revolutionary wars to defeat their aggression.” The reason America has been spending so much on the military since WW2 is because the US got to redesign the post war globe. They created a system where they get to call the shots. But they can only do that if they have a huge military. The US imperialists have destroyed billions around the world, and they’re also destroying Americans at home. Jobs leaving, prices rising, and quality of life declining is all because the imperialist elites in control have created an economy which serves them at the expense of hard working Americans.
Central bank and fiat currency are also big contributors to a decline of middle class as our debt based fiat monetary system flows the wealth to the top through inflation
Dang, I liked how informative and straightforward this video was on this issue! You should cover more topics (ex. Obesity epidemic, climate change, infrastructure & urban design, gun violence, Wars on Drugs and Terrorism, etc.).
Mate, cheers your material's always that of legend. As military myself, I'll attest 1st hand that the millions to billions any govt gives its military is precious little next to what the actual service member or even a given unit/organisation sees. We get cuts left and right yet see absurd budget levels.
I do think the US overspends, but at the same time if we spend too little countries like China will take advantage of that, so I think we need to find that balance
@@aznluvr7 If America disengaged from East Asia then China would have zero reason to bully Japan or South Korea. Their primary concern with those countries is there relations and military cooperation with the U.S. If we left their goal would be accomplished and they would be able to establish peaceful relations, just as they have with all of their other neighbors. If America was in their position they would take the opportunity to expand, but China is different. They're not interested in becoming a global hegemony, they're interested in destroying it and distributing power more equitably across the globe. Their foreign policy has consistently been in line with that goal.
@@brandon9172 So you trust the CCP to not act aggressively without a counterbalance? Why are they trying to claim the entire South China Sea if they want to be equitable? That is in violation of the international law of the sea and violates the territory of numerous nations. China has deep seated problems with Japan that wouldn't resolve absent the US. Korea and Vietnam were vassals of China long before the US had any involvement. I think you could use a history lesson.
No it wouldn't. Tuition free college would lead to colleges jacking up the tuition rates since uncle Sam will pay for it and they no longer have to be somewhat competitive. And that's apart from other costs of attendance that they'll also crank up.
@@daz-ut1sd Why does this not apply to regular K-12 or other nations with tax-funded higher education? at least to the degree you are implying. There are ways to lower the cost of college; for example, we could negotiate the price with public colleges and trade schools for them to get the money. This will also only cover public colleges and universities. Private colleges will not be covered. Also, you could design a system that has some form of competition if you really wanted to.
Problems like these are the real issues in the US. Yet, almost no one seems worried about these issues to me. Instead, people seem to be too busy arguing about the most trivial domestic problems. This seems to be a deeply-routed flaw in US political culture. However, I could just be misunderstanding American political culture as a European.
That is 100% by design. If only Americans could realize too. Republicans make a giant fuss over any sort of cultural issue to distract from any real economic issues of the country, and democrats sit around and fight with them. If we can keep people bickering about the latest abortion or trans issue, they’ll never band together to vote against corporate rule of our world and military.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a problem in both parties, but the most ridiculousness happens in the republicans party. They’re the ones that tend to be less educated and are much more easily convinced, so republican politicians can do almost anything they want and hide it by getting their supporters all rialed up over things like transgenders in sports.
@@iammrbeat couldn’t have said it better myself. We need to put aside our differences and strive to help the greater good of humanity, because we’re all human.
You forget about who owns the media and what picture they are painting about the real world. They literally show you only the narrative they want you to see, for example many "studies" have shown that the whole "gender" movement is something like 0.1% of the US population ... yet the media portrays it as it's the half the country. They shove that sh1t so far up everybody's throat it would make you think every 3rd person is wondering whether they are male or female :D They have mastered the art of making "an elephant out of a fly", now apply that to everything you see on the media and you will realize it's about the good old "divide and conquer". If they're fighting over how many genders they are or which lives matter the most, they should be busy enough to not figure out who's making all the trouble. I choose to believe people are much smarter than that and an awakening process is transforming our species mostly due to the internet and our growing awareness of the problems we all share on this beautiful planet. We can inflict unimaginable horrors upon ourselves but we're also capable of achieving anything we can dream of. The only way forward is to work together as one and the only thing that is stopping us ... is us.
It is naïve to believe that an group of entities so powerful such as the Military Industrial Complex with so much power and influence already established would allow for it to be dissolved by voters.
Great video. It's a tricky topic. Yes it probably helps cause more wars, but it also probably helps keep those wars from ballooning into WW1 or WW2 type of mass conflicts. I admit the back rubbing triangle is a bit painful and annoying and it's a bad side or main effect.
@@iammrbeat So you genuinely think that Russia and China would leave their neighbors alone if the US decreased military spending and our global footprint?
@@gingerlicious3500 Why is it the United States responsibility to play referee with other countries? Why is it taxpayers responsibility to support other countries? Isn’t that what NATO was created for?
@@lookingbehind6335 Because we're the most powerful nation on the planet. We can commit more to the defense of democracy than any other single entity in the world is capable of. Other nations, especially the ones on our alliance frontiers (Eastern Europe and the Pacific) do put a lot of money towards their militaries (to name a couple examples, Poland is retooling their military towards becoming the mightiest land army in Europe within a decade and Japan is rebuilding their naval expeditionary capability), but they just don't have the same level of resources to throw at the concept of common defense as we do. But for every dollar they DO spend, that is one less dollar we have to spend. Several less, in fact, since they're a lot closer to the potential fight than we are. And if that's not a good enough reason for you; much of America's wealth and overall position of privilege in the global community comes from our global alliances and trade deals with other nations. Europe buys an awful lot of the goods Americans produce, so without that demand, the American economy would suffer. Same with Japan, and as things stand right now Taiwan is essential to the global semiconductor trade. If that goes under, our economy would suffer worse than it did under either COVID or the '08 Crash. Whether you like it or not, what happens over there matters over here. We've tried isolationism before. It has literally never worked out for us. Thankfully, the men who got us through World War II learned the lesson of that conflict and worked tirelessly to entrench America within world affairs so we could destroy threats before they grew out of hand and threatened our homeland.That's why we created the anti-Soviet alliance during the Cold War, that's why we currently are making sure that Russia has zero chance of rebuilding their empire now, and that's why we're keeping China contained in Asia. We're nipping these problems in the bud before any power becomes our peer because we don't ever want to have to fight a war like WWII ever again. And before you think "why would these nations ever attack us" autocracies are inherently threatened by democracies. The existence of democracies and their proof as an alternative to authoritarian rule are seen as an implicit challenge to dictators. They cannot live and let live.
If both major parties vote in favor of the MIC, who would be the candidate to vote for instead to get them out? There are some exceptions to it (Bernie Sanders) but those options don't exist in most places.
@@abdullahfahad53 make sure you refresh yourself on his other (corporate) takes, such as his healthcare and economic standpoints. Perhaps you’ll agree. I do not.
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
I got so worked up in this video that I lost my beard.
How do _you_ feel about the military industrial complex?
Sponsorship information:
AdGuard VPN on SALE! Use promo code MRBEAT to get a 2-year subscription plan with 83% OFF - agrd.io/mrbeat
Limited time offer!
first
I hate it
Eisenhower was absolutely correct about the military industrial complex.
@@abrahamlincoln937Based Eisenhussy
What a great topic to cover. I hope we achieve world peace before the AI singularity. Otherwise I don't see us avoiding a future of armed robots.
One of the most shocking facts that I ever learned is that the Department of Defense not only has the distinction of being the only Government body to never pass a single audit, but in their most recent audit, they were unable to account for a shocking 61% of their assets. People shouldn't be screaming from the rooftops that we could permanently end homelessness and hunger in America almost eighteen times over with the money that we spent on our military in a single year.
People should be screaming from the rooftops that we could permanently end homelessness and hunger almost _ELEVEN_ times over with the money that *_WENT MISSING_* in a single year.
*_Edit:_*_ Okay so I was slightly wrong about this. Huge thanks to the ONE person who explained my mistake without talking down on me and treating me like an idiot. But yes, the pentagon did not lose 61% of its $800 million+ dollar budget in a single year. It actually lost 61% of its combined $3.5 trillion in total assets that it had accumulated over many decades. Out of the 27 areas investigated, only seven of them passed._
Nah that's no fun let's go drone strike more hospitals and schools in the Middle East again! For Democracy of course!
USA has spent 20 trillion on the war on poverty but ur telling me 1/18 of the usa millitray budget could end homelessness
@@billyosullivan3192 the war on poverty was a sham just like the war on drugs.
Yeah, if If I have the obligation to pay taxes the government has the obligation of telling me where my money ends up, and if I have to be honest about my taxes they have to be honest about where they spend my money.
It took the Department of Homeland Security 10 years to pass its audit, the DOD is 10x larger than homeland. It should do better, but still this isn't as crazy as I think you're making it out to be.
Not being able to account for something in an audit doesn't mean missing!
It's crazy how when things like universal healthcare and free college tuition are proposed, only thing you hear on the media is "where will that money come from" but when it comes to military spending no one questions it
im a believer of a good military. the us being the world police beats russia or china but yeah i think it would be better if more funds went to healthcare and college. i read up somewhere that the military spending is inefficient and wasteful
@@bruh-bn3ni did you hear how much money the Pentagon has lost track of? $220 BILLION
In 2022 we spent ~$767 billion on national defense. Same year the us federal government spent $755 billion on just Medicare. Universal healthcare will be a process much larger than national defense and the sector is 20% of the us economy. It really is a more complicated question since creating such a system is much more difficult than funding an existing one.
There's a simple solution to this problem and that is to hold the department of defense accountable by eliminating the waste they could easily cut the bloated military budget in half. The same thing can be said about our government healthcare system by simply cutting the waste and fraud they could easily cut the bloated budget in half. For the love of money is the root of all evil.
@@halfulford3081 could you please point to the waste and fraud you claim is about half of where the budget goes for Medicare and DoD.
I was disillusioned as a young officer, when i realized most senior officers cared more about their next promotion than making Afghanistan a better country. That sounds obvious but what shattered my vission if the war was that decisions were made that were detrimental to the overall mission, so that the commanders could look better and get a better shot at climbing rank.
Tired of the constant war spending when we could spend it on us
Instead of blowing stuff up and destroying, we could be building and investing.
But the big guy needs his 10% off dead Eastern Europeans. Vote Joe Out 2024
quickest way to destroy the world economy fr
@@iammrbeatwould love for you do a video on world military spending from a PPP angle + benefits/pay (which is like $200 billion of defense spending). We spend way more per solidier both while they’re active (for pay & individual gear) as well as retirement benefits; I realized why other countries have to force people to serve after I learned the massive difference. Anyway, with that info included in a ppp analysis: US spending isn’t quite as outrageous as it seems on the face of it. I enjoy your perspective, not to mention your talent for simplifying complex subjects 🙂
"I want to talk about the war in the Persian Gulf.. big doings in the Persian Gulf, you know my favorite part of that war? It was the first war we ever had that was on every channel plus cable and the war got good ratings too didn't it?. well we like war were a warlike people, we like war because we're good at it, you know why were good at it? because we get a lot of practice. This country's only two hundred years old already and we've had ten major Wars.
We average a major war every twenty years in this country so we're good at it and it's a good thing we are we ain't good at anything else anymore; can't build a decent car, can't make a TV set or a VCR worth a f***, got no steel industry left, can't educate our young people, can't get healthcare to our old people but we can bomb the s*** out of your country alright huh? Especially if your country is full of brown people, oh! we like that don't we? That's our hobby, that's our new job in the world: bombing brown people.
Iraq, Panama, Grenada, Lybia you got some brown people in your country tell them to watch the f*** out or we'll goddamn bomb them! Well when was the last white people you can remember that we bombed? Can you remember the last white.....can you remember ANY white people we've ever bombed? The Germans, those the only ones and that's because they were trying to cut in on our action they wanted to dominate the world BULLSHIT THAT'S OUR F****** JOB! Now, we only bomb brown people not because they're trying to cut in on our action just because they're brown. Now you've probably noticed I don't feel about that war the way we were told to feel about that war the way we were ordered and instructed by the United States government to feel about that war. You see I tell you my mind doesn't work that way. I got this real moron thing I do; it's called THINKING! and I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions. I don't just roll over when I'm told to. Sad to say, most Americans roll over on command not me I have certain rules I live by; my first rule is: I don't believe anything the government tells me... nothing, zero, no. And I don't take very seriously the Media or the Press in this country who in the case of the Persian Gulf War were nothing more than unpaid employees of the department of defence and who most of the time, most of the time functioned as an unofficial public relations agency to the US government.
So I don't listen to them and I really don't believe in my country and I got to tell you folks I don't get all choked up about yellow ribbons and American flags because I consider them to be symbols and I leave symbols to the symbol minded.
Me?
I look at war a bit differently. To me war is a lot of prick waving okay. Simple thing that's all it is. War is a whole lot of man standing out in the field waving their pricks at one another. Men are insecure about the size of their dicks and so they have to kill one another over the idea. That's what all that a****** jock bulshit is about. That's what all that adolescent macho-male posturing and strutting in bars and locker rooms is all about is called Dick fear. Men are terrified that their pricks are inadequate and so they have to compete with one another to feel better about themselves and since Wars the ultimate competition, basically, men are killing each other to in order to improve their self-esteem. You don't have to be a historian or political scientist to see the bigger dick foreign policy theory at work, it sounds like this "WHAT?! they have bigger dicks? BOMB THEM!" and of course the rockets and the bombs and the bullets are all shaped like dicks, it's a subconscious need to project the penis into other people's affairs, it's called F****** WITH PEOPLE!
So as far as I'm concerned that whole thing in the Persian Gulf is nothing more than one biiiig prick waving dick fight. In this particular case Saddam Hussein had questioned the size of George Bush's dick and George Bush has been called a wimp for so long - "wimp" rhymes with "limp" - George has been called wimp for so long that he has to act out his manhood fantasies by sending other people's children to die. Even the name Bush, even the name bush is related to the genitals without being the genitals. A bush is sort of a passive secondary sex characteristic. Now if this man's name had been George Boner...well he would have felt a little better about himself and we wouldn't had any trouble over there in the first place. This whole country has a manhood problem, biiiig manhood problem in the USA. You can tell from the language we use, language always gives you away. What did we do wrong in Vietnam? We pulled out! huh?.. Not a very manly thing to do is it? When you're f****** people, you got to stay there and f*** them good, f*** them all the way, f*** until the end, f****** to death, f****** to death, f****** the death.. stay in there and keep f****** them until they're all dead! We left a few women and children alive in Vietnam and we haven't felt good about ourselves since. That's why in the Persian Gulf George Bush had to say "This will not be another Vietnam" he actually use these words, he said: "This time we're going all the way" imagine an American president using the sexual slang of a thirteen-year-old to describe his foreign policy?
If you want to know what happened in the Persian Gulf just remember the names of the two men who were running that war: Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, somebody got f***** in the ass"
- We like War / George Carlin
Thanks Mr. Beat. Just imagine how much infrastructure rebuilding in the US we could have done with all that money spent on the "rebuilding" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Breaks your heart.
It really does. I'm all for humanitarian aid, but often the weapons we send out end up just hurting civilians.
enough for free healthcare and tertiary education for all, lol.
@@doctorothon universal free healthcare would cost less in taxes than it costs in insurance premiums. We wouldn't even have to cut the military budget for it. Of course I'm all for cutting the military funding by a huge amount, leaving little more than enough to fund care and rewards for our veterans
@@TheModdedwarfare3 absolutely constant cuts to the VA and reps call themselves the veteran party and “support our troops” they’re not supporting anyone but oligarchs
@@TheModdedwarfare3 Gets invaded. Dies.
As a vet, I can tell you this money doesn't go to us. It goes to PMCs. The current and last Secretary of Defense took jobs at PMCs after they retired from the military. 😑
Sure it isn't going towards growing the Navy? Those ships are expensive
@@tristinjudd2595 Who do you think builds those ships?
@nasis18 not PMC's lol. Mercenaries aren't cheap man for man compared to a uniformed soldier, but that doesn't mean very much. I cost 80k dollars for my first year in the army, that's everything including my barracks, basic training, ammo for the range, toilet paper, you name it. 1 year of me is cheaper than a hmmwv. Meanwhile a B2 spirit costs 2 billion dollars just to buy in the first place, not including fuel, maintenance, security, officers making 6 figure salaries to fly it, etc. Pmc's have some nice hardware and the individual is much more expensive, but it's nothing compared to the air force or navy. This guy's nuts.
@@davidbeasley962 PMCs doesn't just entail "mercenaries," but any private military contractor or corporation that has government contracts with the DoD. These companies routinely way overcharge the military for many different things. The politicians won't crack down on this because they are in the companies back pocket. The B2, like you mentioned, is expensive, but it doesn't help that companies gouge the military on parts and other things to keep that equipment running. The DoD can't account for trillions of dollars and have failed their last 6 audits in a row.
@@davidbeasley962 right because Huntington Ingalls Industries isn’t a private military corporation… wait I’m not retarded! Yes they are! And guess who is a giant shareholder there? Black Rock! Guess what they do????? FUND ALL KIKDS OF US PMC BULLSHIT SUMBASS
Honestly when faced with such massive systems like the military industrial complex, it's hard to believe that my vote can do anything. I think it's why a lot of people don't engage in politics anymore, because there are political machines too large for us to even comprehend.
Nah, they still need us. We have more power than you realize.
@@iammrbeat Well you have made me much more aware of how the government works and more motivated to engage in politics, so thank you.
th-cam.com/video/K4O3D7CfThA/w-d-xo.html I believe that this is a great explanation
@@iammrbeat We would have power if we all agreed to not pay taxes if they didn’t fix something or if we didn’t go to work as a country or a large majority
@@calidawg510 the people that actually pay the taxes aren't complaining.
I was stationed in Honduras. my drill Sergeant didn’t believe that the base existed. He thought that there was an error in my transfer orders.
one day our section SGT. came looking for volunteers to do search and rescue training.
None of us were qualified for the training but he insisted that some of us sign up anyway.
I talked to him later about why we were running training exercises with personal who weren’t ever gonna actually engage in that kind of action.
He told me that had to have the training so that they could justify their budget. Basically, they were worried that if they didn’t waste the money this year they wouldn’t have the money to waste next year.
That’s how military financing works
Yup. Spend it or lose it. Almost universal in government budgeting right down to the municipal level though
“We’ve got money for wars but can’t feed the poor”
Instead, we send poor into war.
I'll never forget learning that it wasn't normal for countries to have military bases all over the planet.
Only one country has this
@Yao Li Ang I few do in Africa but that's it
@@yaoliang1580 Russia and China does it too. Russia less so only because they are poor
The cia is the worst branch of government ever started in 1947. Just Google , CIA scandals. And remember it's not torture, it is enhanced interrogation. WTF!
@@howardman3926 the purpose of China's few military bases are not for greed or world dominance but as a defence against the insanity of the US n its vassal states like Britain, Australia n Canada etc.
Please continue to make more videos similar to this topic, it’s so great putting a spotlight on issues like these that don’t get much attention in mainstream media even though these kinds of issues affect EVERYONE.
Heck yeah. I appreciate the feedback.
@@chemicalfrankie1030 such as? I’m open to your explanation; make it good
We don't have to be spicy and name names because then well-intentioned people will hate instead of picking up on (respective) constructive elements of our suggestions.
The truth is you can't serve these many masters, and it's why we're kept so disoriented and divided.
There is so much effort put into personal interests that our interests are neglected.
Love is the only truth and everything else is an illusion - a Shooter Jennings quote
You name one name and you end up with so many enemies 'all the rest of the names' don't get the credit they deserve.
Case in point, Eisenhower names the military industrial complex and is 100% a figure in such construct.
Thank you so much for this Mr. Beat. This video was needed. So many Americans, including my family members, support the military industrial complex. Politicians and corporations are getting rich off our huge military and war.
We can use the military money to help our people yet instead we just continue filling the pockets of politicians.
We really need change in this country. And it all starts at the local level. We need young people to get involved in politics and we need to pass policies such as rank choice voting and ending gerrymandering to elect politicians from neither of the two corporate parties and make real change.
Starting at the local level wont do anything. Regardless of how honest and hard working a local politician is, he or she still needs a lot of capital to run at the national level. To run, you need special interest money. To get reelected, you need special interest money. In order to rid this influence, you need campaign finance reform, which will never happen since the special interests give kickbacks to the politicians. When it comes down to brass tax, a politician will put financial wellbeing over country any day of the week - and there's a reason politicians are allowed to trade stocks and never seem to get audited. We've gone from the founding of the Union, when Congressional seats were part-time roles with frequent turnover to today, where these dinosaurs sit in these positions for 20+ years and magically 10-100X their personal wealth during their time in office...
Instead of voting people in (who can lie and turn on a dime) we should be able to vote on individual bills and issues..like other countries do. And not let elected officials appoint people to serve for a lifetime because after elections, all appointed personnel is driven by special interests. Believe it or not we don't have much voting power when it comes to real change because individuals can be persuaded, bought out and corrupted
One of the takeaways from reading "Duty" by Robert Gates, who served as Defense Secretary under both Presidents Bush and Obama, was his frustration with the military procurement process. Too many in Congress see it more as a jobs program, and that is why they often fund weapons systems that the Pentagon neither needs nor wants, if it means jobs and money for their states and districts. And when there was a move to close some unnecessary military bases, the politics of the situation made it impossible to approach in any kind of rational manner.
I don't know what the answer is, but I certainly became convinced that we could maintain the world's most powerful military forces while spending a lot less money.
(He also argued for spending more on the State Department and diplomacy, noting that preventing war is almost always a lot cheaper -- even in just dollars, let alone lives -- than fighting it. It was a refreshing view from a former Defense Secretary.)
Gates is a wise dude.
to your last point, yes, but if you don't have a strong military people will start wars with you anyway. America should (and imo has) stop trying to be the words policemen and move onto private security for it's allies.
The military gets bent over at the point of sale for just about everything from fighters to a roll of paper towels. If you could see some of the invoices for simple items that claim to be Military Grade you’d probably want to throw up. I remember climbing into the back of one of our smaller helicopters where the Rescue Swimmer sits to get a feel for how cramped it was back there, when he told me how much that 4” foam cushion cost I refused to believe him. It’s a little 2’x2’ quick drying seat cushion and the price tag is mind boggling! I wish I could remember the amount but just think of a high end price for a fancy cushion and multiply that by 20.
One might have difficulty believing the other nations are negotiating in good faith. After the cold war we stopped producing uranium pits. Other nations didn't stop accumulating warheads and arms just because there was a treaty. Refusal to allow inspections, hidden operations not observable by satellite or aerial photo kept these efforts up as the U.S. presumably continued to act in good faith. So the question is this: given that we're actually now behind in warheads and uranium pits to create the proper detonation cycle as China and Russia aid Iran and North Korea while outpacing us, why do you think diplomacy could work?
@@EagleZoo I don’t see how any country can truly trust that the US is operating in good faith based on our history of self service at the expense of everyone else.
“Free school lunches? Maternity leave? Homelessness? Stronger social safety nets?”
“Nah too expensive”
“$813 Billion for military spending?”
“Not enough let’s make it $840 billion”
Exactly
Minimum wage...
Aren't we actually charging these poor bastards for doing our dirty work? They are expected to some how pay us back, they aren't gifts.
Clearly they don’t care about the working class and homeless.
@@deyoungyoung3059 They don't even try to hide it, and people vote for them anyway
When I was in college, I went to a lecture from someone who was stationed at the pentagon. Someone asked: that is a big building. What exactly goes on there? His reply was that the pentagon was just a giant buying operation. There were as many as 150,000 people whose job was just to buy items. From tanks to bbq grills.
My uncle is an architect in the airforce and has been for a long time. He's designed many of the overseas bases and wrote a book on the subject of how much our bases are ruining the local areas. He's a staunch conservative, so the fact he wrote a book on the subject says a lot
Edit: I took his name out of my comment, because I don't trust people in comment sections not to seek him out
Not to mention, having military presence in other people's homeland does not create a good look. Making a country seem nosey to the point where they can militarily intervene in foreign places doesn't exactly make locals feel safe about their OWN domestic space and sovereignty.
I really want to read his book, though.
@@iammrbeat the book is called America town: building the outposts of empire.
Mr beat, you're a kansas guy right? I am also, and that uncle is actually a KU grad
Your uncle probably got indoctrinated by woke propaganda…the reason the us military is the best the best…is becouse we have the most bases and beeen in the most wars…so stop your privledged woke narrative and be grateful you live in the bet country in the world
@@tylercooper1551 don't most us conservative prefer isolation
Former aircraft mechanic here. We spend so much because we get overcharged. I remember working on a new system where we had to use the specialized clamps that were a hundred bucks each. Know what was a good substitute for those when we ran out? Zip strips. The kind you get at the dollar store.
Contractors are a *drain* on the military, far and away.
That's messed up 😐
That's literally the point. It's not that having a military is bad, it's that military industry profiteering is super corrupt. It kind of raises questions about whether or not profit is even good at all...
@@grantmccoy6739 Those military suppliers are sponsors for policitians' campaign.
You may have been a FAA mechanic but you don’t seem to all too well informed. EVERY part is built to specification, and specified for use by the government. All of their parts, systems, and end products are complex and subject to rigorous inspection and testing. You think a contractor specified the clamps? No, they just made them. Make to order, especially new systems, are produced in low volume which drives costs due to economies of scale. Also, all contractors are profit regulated and financially audited basically non stop by multiple government agencies. It’s expensive to do business with the government, so many regulations and risks.
Omg what a fantastic transition.
*The Mr. Beat Follicle Complex.*
Even before Eisenhower, USMC General Butler called war a racket and said that for most of his 30 plus years career he felt like a high class muscle man for big business.
As Caspian Report said : "Russia will understand why the US dosen't have universal healthcare".
Not Russia........half a million iraqis.
Unfathomably based
The US doesn't have government run healthcare because the quality of care is much higher at a private doctor. And since the US has a higher per capita income than Europe, Americans can afford this higher standard of care. The European government run system is not designed to be of higher quality; it's designed to be cheaper. Even the people that advocate such a system here--I mean serious people, not college students who know nothing but think they know everything--speak in terms of getting costs under control. No serious person argues that a government run system results in higher quality of care, because that's absurd. Communist countries had terrible quality of care. The British NHS is notorious for red tape and long waits for appointments. Doctors get paid slave wages, which reduces the quality of people entering the profession.
@@Entertainment_Station_ES How shocking that many would rather have lower quality of care that covers everyone rather than high quality care that only helps some.
@@Iamnotimaginative Virtually everyone in the US who is willing to work has health insurance. Those who can't or won't have access to government programs (Medicaid, Medicare). The main issue facing the healthcare system, again, is costs, not quality of care or access. And the single thing driving the costs is obesity, which is an economic (rare case of too much affluence causing a problem) and cultural problem, not a problem with the healthcare system. We don't need a terrible, government run healthcare system. We need to stop eating ourselves to death.
The fiscal irresponsibility of the US government when it comes to the military has been appalling for as long as I can remember... he's right... 80 years. That Eisenhower warning wasn't enough.
We're BROKE. This has got to be one of the most irresponsible constructs ever. The U.S. is the only country in the history of the world to not use it's own military to guard it's own border. I've honestly thought about emigrating!
@@josephinetracy1485 Wait, do you support the right to travel freely around the world, or do you support locking everybody inside feudal state borders. It sounds like both at the same time. You can't emigrate, because other countries won't let you in... because... well... you know... they secured their borders.
Either you support the right to travel and the freedom of movement around the planet, or you stand against it...
@@choppergirl Apparently you missed the "only country in the history of the world" part. Since I don't think that you missed it, I refuse to answer.
@@josephinetracy1485Well, you are welcome to answer. Just remember, securing borders is a double edge sword and can work against you just as well. If the US secures it's border against Mexico and Canada, for example... Mexico and Canada will turn right around and secure it's border against the US. And then you won't be able to vacation in either, or... well... leave... at least not by a land route.
You could fly to another country, but if the US doesn't allow immigrants from that country, that country will turn around tit for tat and do the same, so as soon as you'll land you'll be directed to fly right back where you came from....
And then we have a planet locked down into feudal nation states like feudal Europe, where nobody can travel and is tied to the land.
@@josephinetracy1485 is because they think border patrol is enough
This is a fantastic and well put together video. I love how it explains the details of the industrial-military complex. I would of also added that military industries also influence the media, which then influences the movie industry and pop culture. War and The military are glorified in America and that's something that's going to be hard to change.
I've been noticing an awful lot of military propaganda on the evening news in the past several months. Stuff like touring aircraft carriers, fearmongering about how underprepared we are for China invading Taiwan, even complaining about jobs for military spouses. Funny how the solution for all those problems seems to be "spend more money on the military."
I appreciate the kind words!
Yup, I feel like most Americans could easily become warmongers and not even realize it
The MIC runs deep, literally so pervasive that it's engrained into our very culture. The Department of Defense often loans its equipment to movie studios to use in filming (think like a helicopter in an action movie or jets in top gun). As a prerequisite for using their equipment the DoD will review scripts for the movies they lend equipment to and will withhold equipment if there is something in the script they don't approve of (i.e. usually something that is critical of the military). There are literally internally released transcripts from the DoD that admit to doing this. So yes the MIC does influence our media and films, which in turn has a massive impact on American culture.
War being glorified is a tradition dating back since the rise of tribes and civilization. It’s a great honor to serve your people and sacrifice if need be. I experienced combat in Afghanistan and I don’t want to be part of it again. However I would still do it for America. Watching war movies inspires people to serve and to be some body, this is why I joined the Marines. But many of these films show the bad side of war which is the main lesson.
I remember a story about a guy who was in the Navy on a ship, and he said as they were on their way back to the US, they were told to throw a bunch of perfectly fine, in working condition, expensive equipment overboard before they arrived to port so they could justify more funding.
I was a Navy Storekeeper. I know.
If you don't use up your budget next one will be smaller.Gotta use it up.
This story is most convincing as is, without details, dates, places, or sources. Today's lower-educated citizens eat it up, wanting endless free stoff handed out personally. In fact, let's just say the crew sunk the entire ship before reaching port to 'JUSTIFY MORE SPENDING".
I recall a similar incident happening in Afghanistan not too long ago...
@@bustedupgrunt1177 I don’t know why you felt the need to take that so personally - I was pretty transparent that it was just a story I heard lol
Military Industrial *Complex*? I find it to be quite simple, actually.
A new Mr. Beat video in the morning makes for a less annoying day at work!
Dang work
One of the reasons why we go to war is money or lies. I prefer having peace
I prefer having peace, too.
One thing that’s interesting is the types of training the military gives also affects the economy. In Australia for example, the only place that offers training to become a licensed demolition expert is the military. You would probably find that in the US, the main source of training for some niche essential services is the military.
So an ex military would get employed because of his shooting skills? A doubt that.
@A straight right beats the left no but a nuclear engineer from the navy would be employed by some scientific industries
@@Movingforward2000 Cartel killer yes.
I read that pilots are also usually poached by private sector after Air Force trains and gives them valuable experience. 🔺💯
Private security, security consultants is also another skill that benefits from the military. I cant think of places outside the military and law enforcement that can give experience in actual combat.
And?
After having been on the inside of the Military Industrial Complex pretty much my whole adult life, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of military spending is both unnecessary and is basically nothing more than a way to distribute money across America via govt spending.
Could you please elaborate?
It took you decades to figure that out? Lol. America 🤷♂️
It is in many ways a job creation program. As long as it supports the US and allies, it is all great.
Well, distributes money to the company owners and to the government.
But that it won't be spent on the betterment of society makes it kind of useless to us.
Thanks for CONTRIBUTING to the MIC...I don't feel sorry for any of y'all.
hello mr beat! thank you for pointing out what to me seems obvious, but some are not as worried about it as i feel they should be. i continue to share your videos with my teachers and they are often shown to our classes. great work!!
Thank you so much, Matt!
People sleeping under every bridge in this country. Gas and food are nearly unaffordable. But we always have money for war.
Thanks for speaking up on this issue Mr. Beat . Hopefully youtube doesn't demonotize this video for speaking truth to power.
Can't feed the poor but we got money for war
“They got money for wars but can’t feed the poor.” - Great video.
Tupac! One of my all-time favorite songs.
They have the money to feed the poor but don't care. Government is made up of people and these people only care about their interests.
Mr. beat is my history teacher
This was an EXCELLENT video. It was presented in a fun, fast, clear way that made me understand the full gravity of the situation, and it ended with an ACTUAL call to action unlike nearly every other video essay I've seen on this platform. I love how the video ACTUALLY TAKES A SIDE and explains why the side is correct and what you should do. Keep up the good work, man, I LOVE this content.
The best solution would be...
1; Banning politicians, government official, and military officials from owning stocks in any companies That have Contracts with the u s government.
2; Ban companies that have contracts with the u s government for making political contributions to either political campaigns or political action committees.
3; Ban all politicians snd members of the military from receiving any type of gift from Defense contractors or defense lobbyists.
You might as well ban retirement accounts lol. So many large companies have some kind of military contract or other defense related contract.
easier said than done. everyone keep voting them into office.
Better idea: if we're going to have troops in a country, we must have declared war upon them. And upon any declaration of war, the draft is in effect for all persons aged between 18 and 40. No deferments, no exceptions. Somehow, I think that every person being faced with their kids being sent off somewhere will do a lot to blunt the appetite for foreign adventure.
This will bring more problems than its worth, as the Video points out the US Needs its Military to exert such a massive influence in Foreign Politics, doing this would mean Contractors would also move to other ventures likely her enemies included.
The Problem is yeah encentives but this pushes the dial way too much to the opposite direction.
@@daz-ut1sd that and give Classifed Documents to Russia, its not like Lockhead Martin would do nothing if this gets passed.
Not a year has gone by where I hadn't felt a degree of disappointment with how disproportionately America's discretionary spending goes to war. It just feels like an unwavering fixation, regardless of how loud or quiet the call to action for war is.
I would like to see the money go towards something a bit more altruistic like environmental concerns, the healthcare system, or in the pockets of hard working Americans who are good enough at math to know they are being ripped off by the stagnancy of wages that should have been bumped years ago.
I'm not for defunding the military in a black and white sense, I just think the proportions by which we unquestionably distribute our annual wealth, ought to be scrutinized when children and adults go to sleep hungry. Being too defensive can often come at a cost of the very thing one is defending.
Great video Mr. Beat. You're one of the best history channels on YT.
Thank you mr beast
fun fact: if you had the amount of money given every year to the military, you would be able to pay Amtrak's current annual budget for nearly 312 years
Geez
wow, maybe we should fund more trains, that'd be great
Mr. Beat always has the best hot takes on history/politics
Not even a hot take
Thank you very much for teaching me and drawing examples. Everytime I try to understand, the specific meaning gets convoluted and obscured.
They always said Prussia was "An army with a state", I feel the US is moving towards that
Lol not even close. What was meant by that statement was that Prussian society was completely militarized. EVERYTHING was geared towards supporting the military. America is nowhere even remotely close.
They have gone far beyond the prussions
@@yaoliang1580 You clearly don't know much about Prussia or the US.
@@gingerlicious3500 “The United States is a war machine masquerading as a country whose political class and mass media are so thoroughly brainwashed as to be beyond redemption.”
Finian Cunningham
Good point, but stats dont add up. The US military budget's share of total GDP has gone down from 7% during the cold war era to 3.5% today, which is exactly half!
Thank you Mr. Beat. I love your in-depth research and presentation!
Thanks John!
Mr Beat, warm wishes from Poland
This video was so good I always hated the military industrial complex and this just put it in a thoughtful explanation. Honestly we are so doomed if people continue value killing people over using that amount of money to literally help lives
Thank you. At least folks these days are more aware of it.
Either the military industrial complex is to be destroyed, or has its clients dominates the world will the military industrial complex evolve into a triumphal boon, or a vanquished bane humans will remember and record
If you are in the west you benefit directly from the USA huge defense spending. Even if you eliminated DOD spending I don't think you would like the consequences of it.
If you have not done a deep dive into historical civilizations, past global crises (i.e., plagues, wars, famines etc.), and economics, please consider reading more about those topics. While most American citizens are fed up with the politics and do not condone killing, things have been much worse. Since we are exposed to so much information, life appears to be bleak. We can believe that we are doomed or believe in solutions.
While there will always be problems, we are actually much better off when it comes to economics, physical and mental health, education, and safety.
Mr. Beats did a fantastic job at explaining the industrial complex. While there’s room for improvement, completely changing our current system will produce consequential challenges and problems. It will take time and patience.
@@GMAMEC Radical changes are indeed not the perfect way to transform the military industrial political impasse that tips America from it's narrowing balance
Perhaps the biggest reason why the military-industrial complex persists is that it's a huge source of employment. Not only are there active and reserve military personnel, but there are all the employees of military contractors (and subcontractors, subsubcontractors, etc.) and all the scientists and engineers who rely on research funding from DARPA and related agencies. Even NASA and the Department of Energy owe much of their existence to the military, even though they are civilian agencies. People are not going to vote for Congressional candidates who could put them out of a job.
Even though I know all about this subject for over 30 years plus I still love to see others comments about this. After WW2 our country and the defense industry saw the profitability in War so that's why we are here. Good work 👍.
That's an important topic, and I hope more people get to learn about the military-industrial complex. It helps that Americans seem to grow tired of war, so hopefully this loophole will end.
It's funny you mentioned health, education and infrastructure spending, because they're another huge mess that needs to be talked about.
Yeah I really ought to make a video about the entire budget.
Thank you for making such an important video. Of course, this isn’t widely taught in the U.S education system. But it should be!
I used to teach it, as well as some of my colleagues, but I do realize we were the exception compared to most high school social studies teachers.
It's worse than that. No one knows how things are made not just tanks, fighter jets, but other mundane things like smart phones, cars, roads, indoor plumbing and food. With Amazon free 2-day shipping people are very much disconnected.
I think Metal Gear Solid 4 mentioned it. But i think its talked about, but obviously military itself doesnt say that probably
This is my favorite video of yours in a while! I'd love to see a video from you examining how each individual President expanded military power. I did a video a while ago on the powers of the President which touched on that but one of those long form videos you do would really do it justice. Great work!
Great timing on topic Mr. Beat! This 'debt ceiling' issue where NO ONE talks about the massive military spending, plus it increases every year even when the Pentagon has failed *every audit* thus far.
Yet Congress wants to add 'work requirements' to SNAP instead of asking for accountability on the many billions of tax payer dollars fueling the military industrial complex. Talk about lazy....
McCarthy and members of the House took military spending and tax increases off the table before negotiations even began. It’s almost like debt and money isn’t the main reason they’re doing this.
heh heh well put
What "massive" military spending. US Defence spending is only 3.4% of GDP. Near an all time low.
@@practicaliching2311 nah bro you can’t be serious.
Medicaid costs $100 billion less than the pentagon and SNAP costs $700 billion less, but Republicans have no issue cutting that spending
@@practicaliching2311 It's insanity to use a percentage of GDP when talking about 21st century USA, whose GDP in 2023 is ~$27 TRILLION.
Those "only 3.4% of GDP" and "near an all-time low" lines actually translate to ~$857.9 BILLION (the largest figure ever).
Is it just me but I love this sarcastic side of Mr. Beat?!?
Looking back, the country's move further and further away from the very academically driven foundation, to gradual industrialization, to the foundation (via robber barons) of what we have now with superpowered corporations, is disheartening. Never would have those who drafted the Constitution have expected an American private conglomerate to have more power than the king they released themselves from, and never for there to be dozens of such corporations able to overrule sovereign nations.
Pretty much all civilizations have a specific class that holds all the real power. Whether it's the government, religious leaders, bureaucrats, military, or merchant class.
@@MP-dn4bs And the goal of the American Democracy was to prevent said people from having such power. Yet look where we are now? Such is life sadly
But corporations are made up of people. They can be taken down more easily than governments.
@@iammrbeat True, though by the same idea they can be better organized than some states. Hawaii, Iraq, and Honduras and Nicaragua are examples of private exploitation on unprepared or already disintegrated governmental organizations.
Americans have long hated the idea of their government having too much power.
Corporations were able to spin this into people abhorring the government having any control over corporations whatsoever.
Power is a zero-sum game. If the government doesn't have it, someone else does.
I think something worth mentioning is the idea of Purchasing Power Parity, meaning that dollar-for-dollar, other countries get more value for their military spending due to the fact that goods and services are cheaper in that country. That makes the US military spending *slightly* less ridiculous, as our peer adversaries spend a lot closer to our $800 billion when you factor this in - for example, China's spending is closer to $500 billion when adjusting for PPP. That said, it is still an outrageous amount, and way higher per capita than any other nation on earth by far. We still should be solving homelessness and domestic issues with our extra billions rather than funding a few more ships, planes, and guns, but unfortunately we probably won't any time soon.
Also important to note that we dont spend the most on our military as a share of our GDP in the world. That would go to Oman which spends 8.8% of its GDP on the military, while we at spot number 14 spend 3.4%.
Thinking like an economist. I love it, but emotionally it's a bit difficult for most folks to connect with.
@@baldurofwrath GDP is not really a good measure for anything.
@@page8301 I think it can be pretty good when trying compare the sizes of countries economies, but I do agree that things like GDP per capita are not always the best indicators of well being. It also creates issues when looking at things like workers who leave their home country to work somewhere else, although that is why we have values like GNP (Gross National Product)
The US isn't number one in military spending per capita (it's number 2 after Israel). Numbers 3 to 8 aren't that far away from the US. The US spends 2,595.44$ per capita compared to Kuwait ,which is number 8, that spends 1,814.21$ per capita.
You're killing it Mr beat. Never stop being correct
Now that you have explained the military industrial complex, maybe you could address the homelessness industrial complex.
I live in Los Angeles. There is an entire industry devoted to homelessness.
The proliferation of taxes and spending, growth of non-profit and government agencies, and the increasing homeless population is a never ending cycle.
THIS! this is going on in Pittsburgh as well, can only imagine LA being 100x worse
I think if they keep spending so much money on the military, then the military should be obligated to do more domestic service projects like taking care of the homeless and getting them back on their feet. Like have military men run soup kitchens or help these people get jobs again
If you care, I personally know and personally have benefited from this complex. The issue is housing. We need more affordable housing.
There's some iron triangles for homelessness at the state (CA) and local (LA county & city) levels, sure, but they aren't anywhere near the driving force (like in the MIC).
CA (Gov Regan) was closing all its mental institutions around 50 years ago, relying on community treatment facilities, which were never built.
Surprise surprise, prison populations swelled with people needing mental health services. Around 10 years ago CA (Gov Brown) released many prisoners, especially those with mental illness and addictions.
So guess where they live today? The terrible cycle in play now is that living on the streets is harsh, health issues and addictions only get worse.
His statement at 1:20 is BS. CA's big cities have spent more than that, it hasn't made a dent.
$22 billion might be how much it costs to pay for facilities with a number of beds = the number of people living on the streets at the moment, but the govt making that purchase is a far cray from "ending homelessness"
Ive engaged more with politics and history because of you than any other single person. Thank you!!
That means a lot. Thank YOU
Thank you for this video. I hope & pray that more citizens see this and understand it’s meaning.
One of the sad parts is that even as the budget jumps by leaps and bounds less and less of it seems to get to a troops. I read some were a surprise amount of soldiers live in food deserts and many are on SNAP.
Great Video Mr. Beat. I am sharing this video because The American People need to be educated on the serious conflict of interest that is going on here with The Military Industrial Complex. Our country has spent trillions of dollars on pointless and stupid wars while The American people including military veterans who have fought in these pointless wars don't even have access to universal healthcare. Thank you for making this video and God Bless.
Also In my opinion Mr. Beat should really consider running for public office because we need people like him getting involved in the process to help better the country. I sure hope Mr. Beat is up for the challenge.
I've never had a video end with such a great joke, really cracked me up
"Go vote", lol. Good one.
Another day another Mr. Beat video to binge watch. Thank you for all the great content!
Many people in congress literally own large parts of companies in the military industrial complex (a disgustingly high number of them, Johny Harris made a video about exactly that and he linked his sources, including a news article where the journalist who made it compiled a list of precisely what senators and members of the house own shares in defense companies, and basically all, if not all, of those senators and representatives vote to give more lucrative contracts to the companies they own part of)
Harris has been strong on this topic!
Lol, I would like to look at this story. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are literally in the S&P 500 companies.
The companies that handle logistics for Afghanistan war got massive links with both Hillary and that old Kentucky governor or something, I forgot his name. There's nothing to fight for in Afghanistan thats related to US freedoma, but its insanely profitable for military complex to keep the troops there.
Short version of the video: Powerful people and their never ending quest for money.
Something that should be kept in mind is that the Department of Defense has *_never_* passed a financial audit. Even for a government body, there is an enormous amount of waste in the military. Military members make jokes about it. If the DoD could reign in its waste problems, it could probably continue to operate at the level it currently does while the hundreds of billions of dollars saved could go towards things like education and infrastructure and people on both sides of the debate would be satisfied
3:45 wow I got goosebumps Mr. Beat. So well said! We are losing the battle for democracy imo. Thanks for making videos like these to try and spread the knowledge.
I’ve never wanted a VPN so bad in my life
Hey Mr.Beat, I just wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to make some TH-cam videos! You really are one of the greatest TH-camrs!:)
Thank you Jacob!
My uncle is a retired lieutenant colonel from the air force. When I asked him what he thought about the military industrial complex he pretended like he didn’t know what it was. Lost a bit of respect for him that day
He’s not going to possibly jeopardize his retirement by giving you his personal opinion. Smart Man. Everyone is a chatty patty and they have social media. Sometimes you have to play dumb
I'd rather my taxpayer dollars go towards helping my fellow man instead of enriching or killing them.
Or just pay less in taxes
This is an important video. The world would be a better place if everyone in the country understood this and voted accordingly
Then that mite start a war?⚠️⭕✌️
1:25 This is why I always say if Congress, or the US government in general, was serious about solving homelessness, they would have done it by now.
Military spending is far more important than ending the homeless issue. 😟😟😟
This is a beautiful video. Thank you for educating others in your country about what's truly happening behind closed doors.
Does Mr.Beat have the largest history class in history at 782,000?
Yes.
That'd be Oversimplified. lol
@@iammrbeat yeah
American mindset:
Spending on military=Democracy
Spending on social programs and infrastructure = communism
Indeed , lets also not forget about the countless democracies the CIA has overthrown around the globe only to replace them with a Dictatorship that is US "friendly".
This is an absolutely *_fantastic,_* entry-level video that covers *_loads_* of ground in under 20 minutes.
Link this to your non-political friends, folks!
The next entry in the Eisenhower saga 🫡
Yeah making the Eisenhower video further motivated to make this one. :)
@@iammrbeat No complaints here, let the inspiration flow! haha
I wish someone would explore how the military industrial complex effects American culture. If someone were to, as an American war veteran myself I'd suggest looking into veterans with MOUT training and experience in the police training industry, a possible correlation between mass shootings and/or gun ownership and military glorification in the media, and maybe the effects War on Terrorism veterans have on the Marijuana legalization movement. Love your content.
They should stop calling $bribery$ lobbying.
The Military Industrial Complex doesn't just contribute to more reactive military responses, it also makes fighting wars effectively much harder.
Exactly
Okay I’ll bite, how? The US has overall the best military equipment in the world. A lot of that development came from the private sector.
Everything with this much money in it is sure to become a racket for the pockets of the greedy. Ppl in high positions get lost in decadence and corruption and finally when a bigger dog comes along you're too busy fighting amongst yourselves over personal scraps and then you'd get punk'd like a bch.
How does it make it harder. Explain
@@jonharrison3114 For example, the military industry's outsized influence/control over Congress and the Pentagon means that they prioritize profits over efficiency, even during wartime.
And that is just one side of the triangle.
I remember Rush Limbaugh talking about Eisenhower's speech regarding the military industrial complex, but not until now did I have any clue what that meant. The fact that politics has become a career (instead of a brief stint of public service) might have a lot to do with why this happens. Term limits on Congress would make things a lot different, but that isn't likely to happen because we can't expect lawmakers to make laws to impose limitations on their own careers.
Convention of States
Here’s a quote from Chairman Mao that’s extremely relevant.
“Ever since world war 2, US imperialism and its allies have been continuously launching wars of aggression. But the people of various countries have been continuously waging revolutionary wars to defeat their aggression.”
The reason America has been spending so much on the military since WW2 is because the US got to redesign the post war globe. They created a system where they get to call the shots. But they can only do that if they have a huge military.
The US imperialists have destroyed billions around the world, and they’re also destroying Americans at home. Jobs leaving, prices rising, and quality of life declining is all because the imperialist elites in control have created an economy which serves them at the expense of hard working Americans.
Central bank and fiat currency are also big contributors to a decline of middle class as our debt based fiat monetary system flows the wealth to the top through inflation
Chairman Mao, also literally killed millions.
Isn't that the same dude who annexed Tibet?
@dolphingirl12885 gotta love trickle down economics!
@@luckygjv872yes
Dang, I liked how informative and straightforward this video was on this issue! You should cover more topics (ex. Obesity epidemic, climate change, infrastructure & urban design, gun violence, Wars on Drugs and Terrorism, etc.).
Mate, cheers your material's always that of legend. As military myself, I'll attest 1st hand that the millions to billions any govt gives its military is precious little next to what the actual service member or even a given unit/organisation sees. We get cuts left and right yet see absurd budget levels.
Gosh, I didn't expect such an animated 'interlude' in the video but I'm here for it Matt Beat
I do think the US overspends, but at the same time if we spend too little countries like China will take advantage of that, so I think we need to find that balance
How would they take advantage of that.
Site sources to back up your claims
Don’t throw around opinions.
@@sharwama992 How would they take advantage? By taking Taiwan (disrupting the chip industry) and bully Japan and South Korea into being Finlandized.
@@aznluvr7 who bully who...u live in cave ??? US the biggest bully of all
@@aznluvr7
If America disengaged from East Asia then China would have zero reason to bully Japan or South Korea. Their primary concern with those countries is there relations and military cooperation with the U.S. If we left their goal would be accomplished and they would be able to establish peaceful relations, just as they have with all of their other neighbors.
If America was in their position they would take the opportunity to expand, but China is different. They're not interested in becoming a global hegemony, they're interested in destroying it and distributing power more equitably across the globe. Their foreign policy has consistently been in line with that goal.
@@brandon9172 So you trust the CCP to not act aggressively without a counterbalance? Why are they trying to claim the entire South China Sea if they want to be equitable? That is in violation of the international law of the sea and violates the territory of numerous nations.
China has deep seated problems with Japan that wouldn't resolve absent the US. Korea and Vietnam were vassals of China long before the US had any involvement.
I think you could use a history lesson.
Well done!
“The Permanent War Economy” by Seymour Melman describes the dangers and corrosive impacts military spending has on the USA.
AWESOME advertisement call-out! Need me some VPN NOW!
We should be pro service member and Anti Military industrial conplex. The average soldier sees very little advantage from them.
The US military steps in to start a fire , not to put out a fire! Therefore it is the world's biggest arsonist !!
No
@@Illumirage Yes it is. The U.S. is garbage at literally every foreign related problems it tries to "solve".
Fun fact: tuition-free college would cost around 1/10 of the current yearly military budget.
No it wouldn't. Tuition free college would lead to colleges jacking up the tuition rates since uncle Sam will pay for it and they no longer have to be somewhat competitive. And that's apart from other costs of attendance that they'll also crank up.
@@daz-ut1sd Why does this not apply to regular K-12 or other nations with tax-funded higher education? at least to the degree you are implying. There are ways to lower the cost of college; for example, we could negotiate the price with public colleges and trade schools for them to get the money. This will also only cover public colleges and universities. Private colleges will not be covered. Also, you could design a system that has some form of competition if you really wanted to.
@@daz-ut1sd the government can just cap how much a university can charge lmao
Problems like these are the real issues in the US. Yet, almost no one seems worried about these issues to me. Instead, people seem to be too busy arguing about the most trivial domestic problems. This seems to be a deeply-routed flaw in US political culture. However, I could just be misunderstanding American political culture as a European.
That is 100% by design. If only Americans could realize too. Republicans make a giant fuss over any sort of cultural issue to distract from any real economic issues of the country, and democrats sit around and fight with them. If we can keep people bickering about the latest abortion or trans issue, they’ll never band together to vote against corporate rule of our world and military.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a problem in both parties, but the most ridiculousness happens in the republicans party. They’re the ones that tend to be less educated and are much more easily convinced, so republican politicians can do almost anything they want and hide it by getting their supporters all rialed up over things like transgenders in sports.
End the culture wars and what's left are the issues most of us agree on.
@@iammrbeat couldn’t have said it better myself. We need to put aside our differences and strive to help the greater good of humanity, because we’re all human.
You forget about who owns the media and what picture they are painting about the real world.
They literally show you only the narrative they want you to see, for example many "studies" have shown that the whole "gender" movement is something like 0.1% of the US population ... yet the media portrays it as it's the half the country.
They shove that sh1t so far up everybody's throat it would make you think every 3rd person is wondering whether they are male or female :D
They have mastered the art of making "an elephant out of a fly", now apply that to everything you see on the media and you will realize it's about the good old "divide and conquer".
If they're fighting over how many genders they are or which lives matter the most, they should be busy enough to not figure out who's making all the trouble.
I choose to believe people are much smarter than that and an awakening process is transforming our species mostly due to the internet and our growing awareness of the problems we all share on this beautiful planet.
We can inflict unimaginable horrors upon ourselves but we're also capable of achieving anything we can dream of.
The only way forward is to work together as one and the only thing that is stopping us ... is us.
Damn Dwight dropped the MIC! 11:08
It is naïve to believe that an group of entities so powerful such as the Military Industrial Complex with so much power and influence already established would allow for it to be dissolved by voters.
True.
yeah no shit. if only more fellow Westoids realized this
@@Batcaveqq They need to turn the system upside down, but they are kept stupid way too effectively.
Imagine if we cut our military spending in half imagine what we could do with that money
Preach it
but hey railguns look cool so
Indeed.
We go to war to prepare the invasion of....
THE EMUS!!!!
@@realllllllycool This but unironically.
- Hey, U.S. What inspires you to be always at war?
- Money
Haters everywhere
Great video.
It's a tricky topic. Yes it probably helps cause more wars, but it also probably helps keep those wars from ballooning into WW1 or WW2 type of mass conflicts.
I admit the back rubbing triangle is a bit painful and annoying and it's a bad side or main effect.
Cause and effect can indeed get mixed up, but those of who study history see the patterns emerge more clearly.
@@iammrbeat So you genuinely think that Russia and China would leave their neighbors alone if the US decreased military spending and our global footprint?
@Ginger Licious That's my thought too Ginger. The real problem IMO isn't the big defense budget, it's the waste and corruption within it.
@@gingerlicious3500
Why is it the United States responsibility to play referee with other countries? Why is it taxpayers responsibility to support other countries?
Isn’t that what NATO was created for?
@@lookingbehind6335 Because we're the most powerful nation on the planet. We can commit more to the defense of democracy than any other single entity in the world is capable of. Other nations, especially the ones on our alliance frontiers (Eastern Europe and the Pacific) do put a lot of money towards their militaries (to name a couple examples, Poland is retooling their military towards becoming the mightiest land army in Europe within a decade and Japan is rebuilding their naval expeditionary capability), but they just don't have the same level of resources to throw at the concept of common defense as we do. But for every dollar they DO spend, that is one less dollar we have to spend. Several less, in fact, since they're a lot closer to the potential fight than we are.
And if that's not a good enough reason for you; much of America's wealth and overall position of privilege in the global community comes from our global alliances and trade deals with other nations. Europe buys an awful lot of the goods Americans produce, so without that demand, the American economy would suffer. Same with Japan, and as things stand right now Taiwan is essential to the global semiconductor trade. If that goes under, our economy would suffer worse than it did under either COVID or the '08 Crash. Whether you like it or not, what happens over there matters over here.
We've tried isolationism before. It has literally never worked out for us. Thankfully, the men who got us through World War II learned the lesson of that conflict and worked tirelessly to entrench America within world affairs so we could destroy threats before they grew out of hand and threatened our homeland.That's why we created the anti-Soviet alliance during the Cold War, that's why we currently are making sure that Russia has zero chance of rebuilding their empire now, and that's why we're keeping China contained in Asia. We're nipping these problems in the bud before any power becomes our peer because we don't ever want to have to fight a war like WWII ever again. And before you think "why would these nations ever attack us" autocracies are inherently threatened by democracies. The existence of democracies and their proof as an alternative to authoritarian rule are seen as an implicit challenge to dictators. They cannot live and let live.
If both major parties vote in favor of the MIC, who would be the candidate to vote for instead to get them out? There are some exceptions to it (Bernie Sanders) but those options don't exist in most places.
Robert Kennedy jr. is also fighting against the military industrial complex, hopefully he wins the election
@@abdullahfahad53 make sure you refresh yourself on his other (corporate) takes, such as his healthcare and economic standpoints. Perhaps you’ll agree. I do not.
@@nickthompson1812 his takes on those issues are quite rational
@@abdullahfahad53 Yeah I really don't want an anti-vaxxer as president
We need an episode about US healthcare industrial complex🤔
This isn't party politics, this is a true monster that needs to be destroyed