bgates, the data you provided goes only until 2003. Further, while GDP has risen quite a lot, US military spending has taken up the bulk of the new wealth, which could instead have been used for healthcare, education, or research. The US spends half of the Earth’s military budget.
The military budget is 4% of GDP. But “the recent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are funded outside the Federal Budget (i.e. are paid for through supplementary spending bills) and are therefore external to the military budget figures.” – Wikipedia
Wars are inflationary, and the effects of these wars will be felt soon enough. Could these wars be partly responsible for the commodity bubble and rising inflation?
