There has been a lot of talk about stimulus money spending, spending on congressional earmarks, welfare and entitlement programs. Folks are worried and upset about the growing national budget and mistakenly focus on the small potatoes instead of directing their anger at the one, gigantic sacred cow of government spending - our war budget, which we refer to by the Orwellian name of "defense" spending.

Every year we spend more and more on the military without ever having a public discussion as to what exactly the world's only superpower actually needs to defend itself. Nevermind that we long ago passed the point where we spend more money on preparing for war than all the other nations of the world combined.

President Obama's "defense" budget for this year is $708 billion!!! That doesn't even include the $33 billion supplement the White House will request for its escalation in Afghanistan this year.

Insanity.

The Democrats are too cowardly to point out the need to scale back military spending and the Republicans know that any such proposal will allow them to revert back to a decades old tactic (it goes back to the Truman era) of painting the Democrats as anti-American, military haters, who want to weaken America.

So, the deficit continues to grow and we continue to build up a military that long ago passed the point of what we truly need.

Look at this graph of the impact on the deficit if specific programs were cut. See where we really spend our money. Where do you see the area for the greatest potential in cutting the deficit?

When will we ever have a public discussion about how much military is enough or must we continue giving to this bottomless pit and bankrupting generation to come?


http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/ ... ekinreview

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

Fail.

It's your beloved social programs...and their interest...and their debt spending that are bankrupting this country.

What you're really complaining about is that $160 Billion for "war operations".

Unless you think it's possible and sane to "cut all national security spending". If that's what you think then you live in some bizarro world and we're not having a rational discussion.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

While I wouldn't be in favor of stopping all defense spending (and I don't think you're advocating that either), it would in fact be nice to see a reasonable debate about the defense budget, and how our spending in this area could be made more efficient.

However, you're correct that most of the time, "Let's see how we can outfit our troops better and more efficiently" is seen as an anti-troop and anti-American statement.

If we could buy 100,000 pieces of body armor for $10M, or 140,000 pieces of better body armor for $8M, why wouldn't we look at that? Just doesn't happen because of political maneuvering. It's pretty sad.

It's clearly not the only place we could save money, but it deserves just as much of a look at other programs that are out there.

OK

Then lets also have a conversation about how to make medicare, medicaid and social security more efficient since they're cumulatively double the size of all defense spending.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

I'm very open to that conversation as well.

We can save a lot of money by making the social programs more cost efficient and eliminating waste, and I think that would help alleviate most objections to those same programs.

Great...so lets take all those medicaid cost saving measures that are in the massive health care bill, put them in a bill of their own and vote on it.

I bet it would pass.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

I would hope they would. Frankly I'd love it if Congress passed more bills, but smaller, more targeted legislation.

Unfortunately, that would require our legislators to actually work.

It's sad ordinary citizens of opposing political viewpoints can agree on simple things to make the country better yet our elected officials cannot.

It's not like Republicans disagree 100% with the contents of the health care bill...it's that the good ideas are bundled with the bad.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

Be honest please.

We're currently on the 5th yearly budget crafted by a Democratic majority.
Almost all the emergency appropriation bills paying for Iraq and Afghanistan were also rubber stamped by Democrats.

They don't claim to be fiscal conservatives but they do love "buying bullets" just as much as the other side.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

So now it's the Republicans fault that Democrats vote for large military budgets?

Is there any injustice or bad thing in the world that you can't, in some way, pin on those evil Republicans?
Because you're really stretching here.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

It's the fact that everybody is supporting those who do not wish to work. Welfare though has good intentions is not meant to be lived off of. one thing that would help with the welfare problem is instituting a mandatory drug test for the people on welfare. The government would not be directly supporting drug cartels anymore. The problem i'd for see is crime would rise then as those people try rob people to get the drug money. As for the increase in poverty, welfare is supposed to be something that helps you get back on your feet. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE EMBARRASSED TO BE ON WELFARE NOT STRIVE TO BE ON IT. This leads me to say i'd like to see how much it really takes for a family to get buy on, not get by on comfortably, just getting by. Give them the bare minimum, details yet to be finalized. but it would be meant to entice them for a better life, as well the dream is supposed to be (why do i want to go to medical school, I want to one up my father, i want to be the best i can, and it is hard seeing those who work to be the best get shafted by the government. I was actually asked why i didn't want to go to school locally, or why i'm looking outside the country. I simply replied i don't know if i really want to live in the States). I'm also debating whether or not the money should be handed out monthly to force people to learn how to budget. I also would like to see a stipulation that before a person can receive their welfare check they must show that they have submitted one job application (maybe more depending on when the money is handed out).

Does the military take money yes. but it creates jobs. The people in the military, the people that make the arms. WW2 pulled america out of the last depression (this war isn't the same)

The problem with today's war is we are stupid. We are giving another country money to get back on their feet while we struggle (hmm just look at south Korea and Japan, they took our money and help and well jumped light years ahead of us (figure of speech with the light years). As well i wouldn't doubt that contracts are given to so and so's friend, the cheapest buy, and not the most qualified individuals who will get it right the first time (the firehall does this all the time, they want to hang a 57inch DLP projection TV from the ceiling, I for one am going to laugh when it comes crashing down and they have to spend more money to buy a new TV, which they could have just done in the first place).

Some big problems are the lobbyist that control the vote of the people, the fact that a common person could not run for congress, that congressional seats have become life long jobs instead of an influx of new ideas. Most of them are rich to begin and you are going to pay them more and give them probably the best healthcare system we have available, and pay to have them protected for life, like they are an artifact. oh and they find the loopholes to avoid the taxes. Since they will not vote themselves out of office one must read your constitutional rights and realize you have the power to implicate term limits through a poll of the people, the founding fathers were not dumb people. Too bad most people only remember the last three months of a politicians term, which they are counting on. Another big problem is Unions. When has it become fair that a high school grad can work on an assembly line making 47 an hour where a college grad has to fight for every penny. When unions where started they where good but like most things power took hold and now they have too much power.

I'd continue but i feel like doing something else.

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"Tis The Season, Fa la la la la LaFontaine" - Rick Jeanneret

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

I'm just making sure blame gets distributed where it's due.
I won't deny being philosophically closer to the GOP than the Democrats on fiscal issues. That's only logical.
It's too bad Republicans have an aversion to actually practicing what they preach.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Okay, my first gripe with the military in general - there is an atmosphere of 'spend-spend-spend', down to the smallest unit level. Every organization has a budget. They consistently find ways to spend to that budget, because if they don't, they stand the chance of getting less money next fiscal year. Instead of striving to cut costs and be as efficient as possible, they instead strive to save "their" money.

I agree with psych - drug tests for welfare *and* unemployment would be pretty awesome. It would get rid of wasteful spending. I'm also an advocate of the fair tax though, so one way or another that money would/should be caught.

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Any effort to make our defense budget more efficient would be spun around into an anti american accusation.

It's fucking crazy.

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Wheelhouse

I didn't know where else to post this

Exactly, wtf do we need a new fleet of stealth landing craft for??

....or another aircraft carrier??

....or another nuclear sub??

This is like saying that the Saints will need to acquire Manning and Freeney from the Colts if they're ever going to be able to beat the Rams.