A Comparison of Defense and Welfare Spending in the United States and the United Kingdom, 1946-1976

Defense & social welfare expenditures in the US & the UK from 1946 to 1976 are compared. Several methods of measurement are used for both countries, but the most emphasis is placed on per capita expenditures in constant dollars. The aim was to determine whether defense & social welfare expenditures are inversely related & whether the US is following the UK experience in both categories. Results show that: (1) the data for both countries are comparable, (2) defense spending trends closely parallel each other, (3) US & UK social spending levels will be almost equal by the end of this decade, (4) there is no correlation between defense spending & welfare spending in either country, & (5) the fiscal limits of peace-time defense spending seem to have been reached in both US & the UK but the fiscal limits of welfare spending are just beginning to be evident in the UK. The US does not yet perceive that a social welfare crisis of major proportions looms on the horizon. 3 Figures, 5 Tables. AA.