Maintaining the world’s most lethal fighting force is expensive. From a high of 35% during World War II to 11% during the Korean War and 9% during Vietnam, the United States has always devoted a significant share of its economy to providing the world the security needed to lift billions of people out of poverty.

But now, just as China threatens the world order that has promoted widespread prosperity, our federal government will, for the first time, spend more on debt interest payments than on defense.