Source: BofA Merrill Lynch h/t Vox
The World’s Largest Defense Budgets
September 8, 2015 6:00pm by Barry Ritholtz
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Given the wage disparity and generally acknowledged currency manipulation, couldn’t one conclude that China spends as much as the USA?
Um, no.
Chinese soldiers are paid much less than US soldiers. Living costs in China are one fourth that of the USA at official rates. That 216 billion at US prices might well be 864 billion if we duplicated it.
@ Iamthe50percent
Your wage disparity point would carry weight if you assume that the entire defense budget is spent on soldiers’ wages. I’m pretty sure there are other things in there as well. In the USA, only about 25% of our defense budget pays people. Are you suggesting it’s much higher for China? If so, can you give us a reference?
“We” don’t (duplicate it). Well, you do.
There are too many odd suppositions in your reply to even get to!
Do you really think that soldier’s salaries are a predominant percentage of military spending anywhere?
What about the variability of living costs with both countries?
Which metric to apply a ratio to? Per capita GDP? Geographic extension of empire?
This is about gross expenditures. And it is indeed gross.