Should Defense Spending Be Decreased Many people in the United States believe that the Department of Defense spends too much money on National defense. Still others believe that a decrease in defense spending would leave the nation vulnerable. In this paper I will examine both sides of this argument, and draw some conclusions of my own. Defense Department spending for the fiscal year 1998 totaled $256 million for military expenses and an additional $31 million in civilian expenses. In January 1999, President Clinton proposed a 4.4 percent increase in military pay that will cost a total of $25 billion over six years; a month later the