Is it really? We could eliminate entire sectors of the federal government and your average person would have no clue. Why do we need 18 intelligence agencies? Why do we need 13 carrier battle groups? What, exactly, do our 100+ overseas bases do for the average tax payer?

None of it makes sense in a supposedly representative government where those who slave away and pay for it get a say in how things are run, or where their collective effort is spent. The current distribution however makes perfect sense if said representative government is an illusion and the taxpayers instead really work to supply the whims of an unelected and unaccountable few. They want to play the great game, and you're gonna go to work to pay for it or we'll send men with guns to your house to take you away. This underlying threat of violence underpins every aspect of our civilization.