For decades, one of the biggest debates in American public policy has been over our military spending. Defense accounts for 1 in every 7 dollars we spend. Many respected defense leaders have questioned whether we’re spending on the right things for the future, or if we’re mired in old thinking — since as the saying goes, the Pentagon is always fighting the last war. And of course, there are countless stories of overspending, duplicative functions among the five separate military branches, and weapons systems that maybe we just don’t need.
So how much of a problem do we actually have? David Walker is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in fiscal responsibility and government accountability. He served as Comptroller General of the United States and CEO of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). He’s a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, the author of four books, the subject of a 60 minutes segment, and today our guest on Great Ideas.
