Couldn't we slash some 10% of the US military budget,in order to help other sectors of our economy ?

What's to understand about the military in the U.S. is its basically the most powerful lobby group out there. Eisenhower (A former general himself, hardly a hippie), warned about this: He called it the military-industrial complex. He feared the military, coupled with arms dealers would eventually hijack politics in the United States. There is no doubt that the military and military production in the United States is taking a huge amount of resources that could go to the civilian sector. Whether that truly is necessary, as the propaganda would suggest, or whether most threats to the country are trumped up is the real question. If you're interested in this question, I would highly recommend the movie "Why we Fight", which takes a look at it.