A hugely significant Reuters/Ipsos poll released today revealed that, when asked which programs they prefer to cut to reduce the rising budget deficit, that Americans dramatically prefer cuts to the military over other options.
A solid majority, 51%, backed cutting military spending, strongly ahead of the runner-up, Medicare and Medicaid spending, which was only 28%. The US military, the most expensive in human history, is projected to grow precipitously in the years ahead.
But with the economy in trouble and the military’s “emergency” spending requests bringing their annual budget ever closer to $1 trillion, the question is increasingly being asked: how can America possibly sustain this?
The short answer is that it cannot, but the ability of Congress to even consider stalling the growth, let alone to actually cut the spending, is very much in doubt. At the very least, Congressmen will no longer be able to claim that their refusal to make such cuts has anything to do with popular opinion.
If they don't the USA will continue to crumble into fiscal oblivion.
I wonder if they'll go for the People cutting their spending. They have all the arms. They are the ones who deal with thugs all around the world, and make common cause with dictators. Do you really think they'll put up with any less of our blood, sweat and tears? No, what usually happens is the plunge just goes deeper and deeper, until something breaks. They gamble with a few more wars, they pillage at home, allowing their friends to help themselves to outrageous bailouts. Then somebody slips up and is quoted as saying "Let them eat cake" on the coldest day of the year after the worst harvest – and it all ends in someone else's blood this time. Not that Marie Antoinette deserved to be the one to lose her addled pate, but after a long "train of abuses" something snapped. With it will go a lot of good things, and the older elites will creep back in new guises, but who knows? Maybe French history does not have to repeat itself here after all. Maybe change can be different chez nous.
The 7th US soldier to die within the last three weeks in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, was identified by the DOD today. Kandahar province is where the Taliban have been pushed to the fringes by the success of the US surge according to several military statements and assessments by US generals in recent weeks.
Nothing will change as the mind set is to fight illegal wars for nothing. This is history and will not change.
I agree. At this point it would be like trying to turn a big ship around with an oar.
The military best facilitates graft and corruption and its spending will not be reduced for that reason. Worldwide access to foreign countries, banks, money laundering capabilities along with the bribery paid to politicians and other well connected person and corporations whom have a stranglehold on corruption will prevail. When benefits from corruption exceeds the benefits from honest endeavor, the recipients of corruption will devote their energy to attaining the benefits from corruption first because they will receive their salaries anyway. Just as Ben Franklin stated when asked what he thought about the then new Constitutional Republic, his reply "It will last a couple of hundred years before collapsing due to corruption".
What a selfish and short-sighted perspective. they must be Mall rats, not the brave heroes who don their nation's uniforms and stand watch on trhe ramparts o'liberty,and the taprooms of VFW posts across the continent..
Keep and maintain the weapons we have. They are the finest in the world. No new weapons are needed. Withdraw all American troops overseas and close all the bases. Let the CIA and NSA do their work. There is no military threat that cannot be met by America's air, naval forces and submarine fleet. Criminal extremists can be countered by the FBI and removal of American bases in the Middle East will greatly reduce their very scant numbers.
Get Chara to body check them
It is really in excess of $I,5OO,OOO,OOO,OOO.OO……. But you know it's lies, Damn lies and statistics.
Think your business, home and/or marriage spending 5O% PLUS on security… Every woman would have forty dresses to not be stylistically "out-gunned" so to speak.. Chain link fence, six pit bulls, cctv cameras on every square inch of the premises and property [where ARE those recordings of the CCTV cameras ON the Pentagon on 911] an overnight watchman to be ready to act should the situation become worrisome… Families might need to purchase some big ticket items like RPGs or shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles to keep up the 50% threshold over time…… It would take a lot to maintain the 50% of income….insanity………
Generational analysis (for what that is worth) tells me this . . . The Baby Boomers are going to cling on to the status quo and their jobs til they are on respirators. Gen X doesn't do or respond to anything that doesn't have a corporate sponsor- and Gen X generally? Anemic whiny babies still to caught up in blaming daddy and mommy for having too much fun in the 60's. And the current generation? Have no idea= but they don't seem even aware of what is going on.
Nothing is going to change.
More inter-generational divisive bullshit. You left out the baby boomers parents generation who started the whole military industrial corporation scam plus made their children pay for their retirements with the SS ponzi scheme. Every generation has it's share of crooks and idiots, always has, always will.
There are different methods of warfare. If the enemy continues to convince the US Congress that they have to keep their military spending at the current or higher levels, they will eventually win the war. Prior empires of this world have met their demise when they could no longer fund an overextended empire. The USA is going down this same path.
The biggest enemy the US has is the US Congress and the corporations that own them.
We're there already, buddy.
No surprise here. Amerikans, although cowards at heart, are a warrior society. One only need read the comments Yahoo following any news article on a perceived "enemy" and every other ignorant critter calls for war, invasion, occupation, bombing, murder. What a shame that they have never experienced the horrors of war on their own backyard. If/when they do, the rhetoric may tone down a bit.
America could reduce military spending by 90% and be perfectly safe. Canada and Mexico are no threat.
February's borrowing was $222 billion. That's $8 billion per day.
And Democrats propose cutting the budget by $4 billion? Laughable.
Republicans propose cuts of $60 billion. That's eight days of borrowing at February's rate. That's eight days of borrowing, not total spending. Also laughable.
Rand Paul's proposal to cut $500 billion from the 2012 budget is a departure, but even that is not enough of a cut because that still means borrowing of over $1 trillion per year.
no spending zone
Ask Mr. Obama if he has a plan.Do you have a plan Mr.President,do any of your advisers have a plan,Mr.President?Are you going to ask Charlie Sheen to head the C.I.A.,Mr President?What are you going to do about the attack of the zombies,Mr President?Do you have a plan to deal with the coming Alien invasion from outside of the solar system,Mr.President?What is your plan Mr.President?
The first thing to do is stop doing business with the federal reserve, and let congress issue our currency, then get rid of the department of education the department of commerce and the department of labor, then why do we need military bases in 135 countries, Senator Ron Paul wants to bring our soldiers home, and last why do we give billions of dollars in foreign aid to known dictators, Egypt was getting about 2 billion dollars every year unconditionally, and much of the money was in Swiss bank accounts, and if the Federal Government really wanted to help us, after downsizing to half of the current bureaucracy, could let California keep more of our tax money, until we recover.