Passed last week in a 284-149 vote in the House, split heavily along party lines, the two-year compromise budget deal reached between President Trump and Democratic leadership has passed the Senate Thursday, 67-28.
The $2.78 trillion ($1.48 trillion military spending) measure lifts
the cap on the size of the US debt. This is an increase over the
already-passed NDAA for 2020, and military spending will now outpace the
entire rest of discretionary spending.
Since the expansion of the debt amounts to spending more money that the
government flat out doesn’t have, this legislation also authorizes the
Treasury Department to issue more debt in the form of bonds to raise
money to cover the difference.
This compromise being between Trump and the Democrats, the Senate bill
passed heavily on Senate Democrats’ support, while the vote among Senate
Republicans was 30-23, with many objecting to the growing debt.
Despite debt concerns, Republican hawks broadly voted in favor of this bill, because it was a
spending increase, and as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that’s the
“number one priority” for Republicans. Even then, a number of them were
grousing about the fact that the spending on the military could’ve
conceivably been even higher.
It’s the same old fashioned practice of “log-rolling.” Liberal Democrats agree to expand military spending, as long as conservative Republicans agree to expand domestic spending. Just once I would like to see an example of “reverse log-rolling,” which would actually result in cuts of both domestic and military spending. But that would make too much sense, so Congress would never consider it.
Congress always approves a huge military “budget”, which is no budget at all, but is a funnel to engorge the monstrous, parasitic 5-sided black hole on the Potomac known as “the Pentagon”.
No problem, China will loan us the funds to attack them with. All we have to do is stock up on the critical military parts China makes for us, and studiously not think about what happens when those parts are all blown up.
Thomas Knapp, I’m curious about why my comment on this thread is still “pending” after an hour. Can you shed some light on that?
It’s not pending anymore. It seems to have been caught by a profanity filter of some kind. Profanity as such isn’t against our guidelines, but my comments get pushed to moderation for it all the time.
Comment moderation at Antiwar.com is something I do in between a bunch of other jobs (most of them unrelated to Antiwar.com), sleeping, etc. When I’m awake, I try to get by every hour or so.
Thank you, Thomas. Oops, it was disappeared again.
Yep. Sometimes it happens multiple times. I’ve approved this one three times, including just a second ago.
What a rude awakening is coming for all USA citizens,,,,the clock is ticking….
How many Americans are going to have to go hungry and homeless for that?
Truer words… The total budget for 2020 is about $4.746 trillion, with an expected shortfall (deficit) of $1.011 trillion or 21.3%. Given that military spending is $748 billion of this and that the deficit consistently tracks in-step with military spending of late, it is clear to a blind man that social spending and entitlements are not driving the deficit.
Social Security, for instance, is in surplus and in fact holds some 13% of the federal debt. The government has been effectively borrowing from Social Security to help fund its out-of-control military expenditures.
Yet there are movements afoot to cut entitlements in order to fund the new arms race, instigated by the US, against China and Russia.
If you want to see something really terrifying read this:
https://www.usip.org/publications/2018/11/providing-common-defense
And the Empire trudges on toward its eventual collapse. This won’t just be the collapse of the dollar caused by mountains of debt. Or, despite bankrupting us with military spending, our increasing inability to project military might: to threaten, attack, or bomb any nation on the planet simply because we are the “indispensable” nation. No, the Empire has reached a terminal stage of decay because the USA has clearly become a colony of Israel, incapable of defending our fundamental geopolitical interests both at home and abroad. Both the POTUS and the Congress are deeply compromised by Zionist money and our political system seems incapable of changing that. We are sunk no matter who gets elected in 2020.
Also, the rest of the world simply won’t stand for it anymore. A new multi-polar cooperative world order is in the process of being built. The New Silk Road initiative is the best example of this and it scares the shit out of the imperialists who run the Empire. It will mean the end of unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, etc. It will mean the end of our bullying and throwing our weight around on the world scene, and it can’t come any too soon. We will be forced to become a “normal” nation again whether we like it or not.
This is obscene!
Now it comes that the $13 bil plus cost overruns carrier Ford cannot yet be deployed, cannot launch swiss army knife F-35, and cannot bring ammo to deck because elevators are not working or installed.
Something is totally out of control.
Need to increase the budget (sarc).
https://www.rt.com/usa/465597-navy-carrier-ford-cant-launch/
Eisenhower would be so ashamed of this country. He was wrong to say the Military Industrial Complex was necessary, but his unheeded warning of the “potential disastrous rise of misplaced power” was likely the most prophetic prediction ever made by a President since Jackson said slavery would be the next cause of North-South hostilities after the Nullification Crisis.
Remember when that was our total debt? Hell, I remember when it was only 10 figures. Never forget, bi-partisan = double penetration. If they agree on anything, better bend over and hide your wallet.