America’s Defense Budget Is Ridiculous

From Why is America getting a new $100 billion nuclear weapon?:

On September 8, the Air Force gave the defense company Northrop Grumman an initial contract of $13.3 billion to begin engineering and manufacturing [a new nuclear weapon], but that will be just a fraction of the total bill. Based on a Pentagon report…the government will spend roughly $100 billion to build the weapon, which will be ready to use around 2029. To put that price tag in perspective, $100 billion could pay 1.24 million elementary school teacher salaries for a year, provide 2.84 million four-year university scholarships, or cover 3.3 million hospital stays for covid-19 patients. It’s enough to build a massive mechanical wall to protect New York City from sea level rise. It’s enough to get to Mars.