GDP: What percentage (%) of Gross National Product does the Pentagon/Defense Industries consume of every year’s budget of the United States Government? Is the percentage the highest in the world when considering various factors such as size of fiscal budget, geographic size of nation plus size of populace, and average amount/percentage of taxes a citizen (though NOT Corporations) pays on total gross income, i.e., what is the cost of security borne by every citizen, resident, & person regardless of age.
“I’ve never seen such a fund-raising campaign before. They’ve raised Billions of Dollars. It’s just a ‘Slush Fund’ for Bill & Hillary,” Robertson stated “matter of factly.” Surprisingly, Pat Robertson didn’t bare long teeth or sharp fangs as he said this ;-)
(*) Footnote: Via: Quora.com - Neo-conservatism is an American political philosophy which advocates an active foreign policy, including liberal use of military intervention, for the purpose of providing for US national security. It is based on a strict understanding of the nation-state model for international governance and imagines the United States as a nation-state superpower under constant assault from would-be contenders for power who are ideologically, as opposed to merely self-interest, driven. Support for Israel and advocacy for a militarily dominant and aggressive Israeli government is a big part of neo-conservatism.
Neo-liberalism is a much broader philosophic outlook for governance which advocates a reduced role for the state in economic affairs, particularly in the developing world, combined with competitive markets and liberal trade policies in each country with the rest of the world. While neo-liberalism supports the use of state institutions for social welfare where needed, it opposes government-protected monopolies and state ownership of productive industries and resources. It is characterized by conceptualizing even the political world as a kind of market, and terms like the "marketplace of ideas," or "policy market" come from the neo-liberal framework.
While neo-conservative policies are largely confined to the right-wing of the political spectrum, neo-liberalism ranges from the social-democratic parties of the center left in Europe and Latin America to the center right parties such as Christian Democratic parties in Europe, the US Democratic Party, and the Social Christian parties of Latin America. Socialist parties tend to advocate against neo-liberalism from the left, and far right-wing parties, which now include much of the US Republican party, tends to advocate against neo-liberalism from the right.
Neo-liberalism is often referred to, in other contexts, as the "Washington Consensus," a kind of bi-partisan (for the US) meta-agreement on the principles of liberal governance for engagement with developing world. -- James Kielkopf, Economist, Public Policy Consultant, Farmer
