US military spending will never be enough

The US national debt clock near Times Square was ticking in the $16-trillion range when I left New York two years ago. On Tuesday, it had crossed $18.102 trillion. This means that each of the 319 million Americans owes a debt of more than $56,000.

The US national debt was only $5.6 trillion in 2000; it crossed the $10-trillion mark in 2008. And since Sept 30, 2012, it has been climbing by about $2.38 billion a day.

I don't remember seeing such a glaring screen in Washington, where politicians are debating US President Barack Obama's $4 trillion record-breaking budget for 2016, including $585 billion in defense spending. While Obama has repeatedly claimed the US has ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US defense budget request is 4 percent higher than the previous year, with Obama seeking more money to produce F-35 fighter jets, submarines, long-range bombers and missile defense systems.