Comment by wozniacki

You had me going right until the closing line

  > By the way, with the US military budget you could 
  provide similar Basic Income for about 3.75 billion 
  people. Just saying ...

I am quite sure what I'm about to say will no doubt, sound hawkish to anyone outside of the United States. To some Americans even. But that is the forbidding truth.

The reason the United States has to spend so much on defense - constantly one-upping the bad actors of the world [1] - is because no other nation will ( or wants to ? ). Perhaps if Western Europe stepped to its end of the bargain, U.S. won't have to.

President Obama summed it up nicely in a recent 60 Minutes interview with CBS News' Steve Kroft:

   Steve Kroft: I think everybody applauds the efforts
   that you've made and the size of the coalition that
   has been assembled. But most of them are contributing
   money or training or policing the borders, not getting
   particularly close to the contact. It looks like once 
   again we are leading the operation. We are carrying...

  President Obama: Steve, that's always the case. 
  That's always the case. America leads. We are the
  indispensable nation. We have capacity no one else
  has. Our military is the best in the history of 
  the world. And when trouble comes up anywhere in 
  the world, they don't call Beijing. They don't call 
  Moscow. They call us. That's the deal.

  Steve Kroft: I mean, it looks like we are doing 90 
  percent.
 
  President Obama: Steve, there is not an issue ...
  when there's a typhoon in the Philippines, take a look
  at who's helping the Philippines deal with that situation.
  When there's an earthquake in Haiti, take a look at who's
  leading the charge making sure Haiti can rebuild. That's
  how we roll. And that's what makes this America.[2]

[1] U.S. Navy unveils high-speed rail gun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygHN-vplJZg

http://www.onr.navy.mil/media-center/fact-sheets/electromagn...

[2] President Obama: People Don't Call Beijing, Moscow, They Call Us When Trouble Comes Up In The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XZRQgT9D5k

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-60-minutes/