Albert Einstein is said to have called compound interest “the most powerful force in the universe.” A recent budget analysis shows how that powerful force would affect U.S. fiscal policy if Congress follows recommendations to increase annual military spending by five-percent per year over the next decade. Following the House Armed Service Committee’s (HASC) passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Sept. 1, HASC ranking member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) touted the fact that he helped secure a 5-percent increase over the Department of Defense’s topline budget for last year. The five-percent bump follows the recommendations of the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission—a body that helps set broad U.S. security goals every four years—which has recommended annual DOD budget increases of 3-5 percent above inflation. Proponents of this annual increase say it’s necessary for the military to complete ambitious goals of overhauling its legacy IT systems, investing in …