Oldest Weapons-grade Plutonium Found In Dump

Urchin writes "Researchers have just identified the first batch of weapons-grade plutonium ever made. The batch was produced as part of the Manhattan Project, but predates Trinity — the first nuclear weapon test — by seven months. It was unearthed in a waste pit at Hanford, Washington, inside a beaten up old safe."

Comments

Actually...

[Giant Electronic Bra]

87% of the US manufacturing base is devoted to weapons manufacture. The US accounts for over 75% of all military expenditures, world wide, and over 50% is on our own military (not counting the costs of Iraq or Afghanistan).

As to what percentage of the GDP that is, the 3% figure is highly conservative and only counts the direct costs of bombs, guns, payroll, and some of the cost of weapons development.

The compounded cost of that wasted economic output is very high over time. Each year, even assuming 3% is the best figure, you loose 3% of your economic output which could have gone into growth without costing anyone a dime, net. The doubling time at 3% is what, 20 some odd years? So, starting in 1948 would make 60 years of this, so the economy is now roughly 1/2 the size it could be if we hadn't just plowed all that money into the ground.

Now obviously the US couldn't entirely do without a military, but the total cost of the military was considerably over 3% too, so on the whole it looks to me like if we had HALVED our spending (so we're only 1/3 of the total world defense budget) we would be an economic powerhouse right now instead of being a basket case with a military that is still designed to fight the Russians in Europe.

So your '3% is nothing in the grand scheme of things' is just a bit off ;).