The United States economy is based upon Military Keynesianism.
The federal government does not analyze spending the same way we do because __spending benefits the economy__, which is part of the government's responsibility. They intentionally spend money to stimulate the economy.
So when the military spends $1 trillion on planes, they are really trading $1 trillion for planes plus economic stimulus.
In other words, the planes don't literally cost $1 trillion. Rather the cost of the planes = $1 trillion minus the economic benefit of spending.
The federal government does not analyze spending the same way we do because __spending benefits the economy__, which is part of the government's responsibility. They intentionally spend money to stimulate the economy.
So when the military spends $1 trillion on planes, they are really trading $1 trillion for planes plus economic stimulus.
In other words, the planes don't literally cost $1 trillion. Rather the cost of the planes = $1 trillion minus the economic benefit of spending.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Keynesianism