Inequality and public opinion on military spending in the United States

Abstract

In this article, I argue that increasing inequality should have an impact on public opinion which balances the impact of military spending in the United States. Using the so‐called “guns versus butter trade‐off” argument, I show that, as inequality increases between those at a lower income level and those at the upper end of income, the public may view social spending as too small and military spending as too large. In response, the public should act less favorably to expenditure on the military. An empirical test of the effect of inequality on public support (since the 1980s) of military spending, in which I employ public opinion data, confirms my expectations: widening inequality engenders a negative impact on public support for defense expenditures.