As the economy has tanked, the banks have been bailed out, and America lost its jobs, the defense budget continues to grow.

For the past 13 years U.S. military spending has increased 114 percent.

That's 8 percent higher than at the height of Reagan's presidency and the Cold War.

The money is used to buying sophisticated weapons that often don't make it into production, and when the do they're expensive to maintain.

The U.S. must spend a full 1 percent of its GDP just to maintain its arsenal.