What Does the US Spend on 'National Security'?

$1.2 Trillion/Year

Get the facts behind this number by reading this helpful tutorial. Chris Hellman of the National Priorities Project documents and reveals the many aspects of government spending (some open – others obscured) that are labeled as national security. The total is $1.2 trillion per year. It is a number nobody wants you to know.

Reference Guide:

What is the difference between a million, a billion and a trillion?

• A stack of hundred dollar bills that equals one MILLION dollars would be four inches high.

• A stack of hundred dollar bills that equals one BILLION dollars would be thirty feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.

• A stack of hundred dollar bills that equals one TRILLION dollars would be 63 miles high. In comparison, jet planes fly around 7 to 8 miles above the earth.

Put another way.

A country with a gross domestic product of $1.2 trillion would have the 15th largest economy in the world, ranking between Canada and Indonesia, and ahead of Australia, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia.