By Nick Mangiaracina, Kansas City Star Contributing Writer

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the more than 700 U.S. military bases in more than 125 countries have pushed the military budget to levels not scene since WWII (with inflation).

By the Department of Defense’s calculation, the U.S. defense budget for 2009 is $515 billion. This doesn’t include the actual cost of the war in Iraq & Afghanistan, maintaining the nuclear arsenal or paying veteran’s benefits.

Including the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the cost of maintaining the nuclear arsenal, the total for next year reaches to $706 billion.

Include veteran's benefits and the military debt being paid, and a more realistic estimate of the cost of the War on Terror, and the total reaches $1.4 trillion or about half the budget.

With no foreseeable end to the War in Iraq or to oil prices dropping significantly any time soon, the military budget is likely only to continue to increase—as it did from the 2008 to 2009 budget by 7 percent (by the D.O.D. figures). Although as America’s military continues to lead the world with its equipment and technology, the domestic front is crumbling.

Since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans a few years ago, the city has lost half its population and its neighborhoods still lie in ruin. The situation in New Orleans is not unique though.

Earlier this month, The Economist reported that much of the rest of the country’s infrastructure is also in a dilapidated state. In the article the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the cost of repairs to American’s infrastructure to be $1.6 trillion, or a little more than the high estimate of what we’ll spend on military-related expenses next year.

A certain amount of military spending is necessary for any country, but the U.S. budget is so extreme that it makes no sense.
Last year, even at the government estimate, we spent more than $1,500 per person on the military. Contrast this to the Chinese, who spent about $50 a person last year.

Even using the $515 billion figure, America is still No.1 in military spending by more than $400 billion. France ranks No. 2 at almost $75 billion. Likewise, we could cut military spending in half and still be far ahead every country in the world.

Cutting the number of countries we’re occupying should be the first step. If we’re going to decrease terrorism, giving potential terrorists less reasons to hate us would be a good idea.

Also, we could stop investing in ridiculous and expensive vehicles that don’t work—like helicopters that turn into airplanes and explode shortly thereafter. What’s that, they were only a billion plus each?

Is there nothing else we should be spending money on? How about a comprehensive healthcare program? What about alternative energy initiatives? Or, we could take care of the infrastructure literally crumbling at our feet

Further, no one knows exactly how much we’ll spend on the military next year because it depends on how you define “military spending.” Whether it’s $515 billion, $706 billion, $1.4 trillion or somewhere in between, the military budget is bloated.

The solution has been to increase the budget, further making the problem worse. This comes at a time when the economy is in a recession due to skyrocketing food and energy prices, the collapse of the housing market and the erosion of real wages. People are hurting, but hey, you only get what you pay for.