Armaments​—What Are They Costing?

TODAY’S military budgets of the nations boggle the mind. They also defy good sense, when you see that such expenditures for arms are given priority over the crying needs of humanity. The Bible foretold for this “time of the end” that a certain “king” (or ruling power) would devote its “gold” and “precious stone” (its resources or wealth) to glorifying “the god of fortresses” (militarism). Other powers follow suit. This blind commitment to armaments often deprives citizens of even the normal supply of consumer goods. Shortages and an ever-present lineup at stores become typical.​—Daniel 11:35-38.

Consider the costs of this frantic expenditure for armaments, as reported in the French journal Plus, March 30, 1985, published in Montreal, Canada.

◻ For every second that goes by, the nations of the world spend more than $37,000 (U.S.) on armaments.

◻ More than 50 million people are employed directly or indirectly in production of arms.

◻ In the United States of America, 62 cents of every research dollar spent is for military-related research, and 27 percent of all government expenditures is for defense purposes; even in Switzerland, more than 25 percent of all government spending is for defense.

◻ Of the 12 great arms-exporting nations, the Soviet Union and the United States account for 73 percent of all arms sales, France accounts for about 9 percent, and Canada in 1984 exported some $1.3 billion in military equipment.

Countries deeply in debt and having a difficult time paying back loans from other lands are among the big spenders for armaments.

◻ Out of more than $350 billion that Latin American nations owe to Western banks, almost $90 billion is devoted to military expenses.

◻ Peru, with a debt of some $13 billion, spent $4 billion for arms in 1983.

◻ Central American countries at war have seen their military expenditures grow by 50 percent between 1979 and 1983.

◻ Considering the economic situation with runaway inflation in some lands, the annual burden of cost per person for sustaining the military is staggering: Argentina, $210; Chile, $120; Venezuela, $67; Mexico, $19; Brazil, $17.

Imagine what a blessing and great relief it would be if this crushing burden of military spending would stop! However, the nations will not stop of their own volition. Only Jehovah the Almighty God can stop them, and he will. Here is his sure promise: “He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth,” yes, “He puts an end to war throughout the world,” even “burning vehicles of war with fire.”​—Psalm 46:9; The Psalms for Today, by R. K. Harrison.

These words are trustworthy and true because “the God who gives peace” cannot lie!​—Romans 16:20; Hebrews 6:18; Revelation 21:1-5.