‘Extra’ spent on military could do world of good

My wife's review with me of the movie 'Vice” suggests it is a very noteworthy critique of neocons and (to use the words of Eisenhower's prophetic warning) their undue influence to increase the costly military presence of the U.S. across the globe. Does this critique of neocons increase the motivation of the base of Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders?

The best answer comes from improving the question. My answer: A healthy voting system like Instant Runoff Voting would allow a third-party candidate to possibly create a coalition that cultivated the common interest of Libertarians, Greens, and independents for the U.S. to not spend $600 billion plus (which is 3.6 percent of our national GDP) on our military burden while most nations ask their citizens to only carry a burden of 2 percent or less. That 1.6 percent of the U.S. GDP, or roughly $260 billion, could do a world of good with plenty left over, even after putting America first. For example our nation's contribution to the United Nations is only about $4 billion per year, which is about the size of our yearly cash aid to Israel.

Clark Rieke

Cedar Rapids