New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's assertion that U.S. military spending diverts funds that could improve public life is economically flawed, according to an analysis by David Harsanyi, a senior writer at The Washington Examiner. Mamdani stated in an interview with Qatari state media that the United States "could have been used to make life easier" for the public with the "tens of billions of dollars" spent on military actions, and that "there always seems to be money for war, but not to feed the poor."
Harsanyi contends that the U.S. actually allocates significantly more resources to social welfare and anti-poverty initiatives than to its military. National defense, he notes, accounts for approximately 13% of the federal budget, a smaller portion than the interest paid on the national debt, which exceeds $40 trillion. Social Security and Medicare are identified as the primary drivers of federal debt.
According to the analysis, the federal government expends around $1.3 trillion annually on means-tested welfare and anti-poverty programs, a sum surpassing Germany's national budget. Approximately 80 federal programs offer aid to the poor, with over 36 million individuals receiving food stamps, representing about 11% of the population. In total, nearly 100 million Americans receive some form of government assistance, and the majority of these recipients do not pay federal individual income tax.
Local government spending on welfare is also substantial. In New York City, the analysis cites $2.71 billion in direct welfare cash assistance payments in 2025, a 70% increase from 2022. The city also allocated $14.63 billion to social programs for the poor, which is more than double its spending on the police department. A rough estimate suggests that the average New York family contributes over $11,000 annually to programs assisting those below the poverty line.
Regarding military expenditures, Harsanyi acknowledges that baseline spending on munitions is typically around $30 billion, spiking to $76 billion during the Iran war in a typical fiscal year. However, he contrasts this with the $919 billion spent on Medicaid in a recent year, arguing that Medicaid funding alone has exceeded all munitions spending over the past 15 years. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surpassed $30 trillion in 2025, with national defense comprising about 3% of that total.
The argument that the U.S. spends more on its military than the next six countries combined is acknowledged as true, with Harsanyi attributing this to the nation's status as a hyperpower. However, he counters that the U.S. also spends more on welfare and entitlement programs than the next six countries combined.
The analysis also points to charitable giving in the U.S., estimated at $617 billion in 2025, as another significant financial contribution to societal support. The author questions the effectiveness of perpetually increasing welfare spending, suggesting that the progressive measure of national success has become predicated on dependency rather than self-sufficiency. Historical data indicates that the U.S. poverty rate has remained consistent at approximately 11% since 1974, despite a more than 760% increase in real federal welfare spending over the same period.
Harsanyi concludes that defense spending, a constitutionally enumerated power of Congress, is not a primary driver of national debt nor an impediment to assisting the needy. He asserts that a fundamental responsibility of the federal government is homeland protection, not the expansion of a dependent population.