The Senate Appropriations Committee on Sunday unveiled a massive $118 billion spending bill that includes military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as spending for President Biden’s new war with Yemen’s Houthis.
The bill is the result of months of negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans on border policies and includes $20 billion in border spending. But some Republicans are unhappy with the agreement and seek more stringent border policies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) rejected the deal and said he would bring a stand-alone bill for Israel to the House floor for a vote this week. The House bill would provide $17.6 billion to support the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, while the Senate bill includes $14.1 billion for Israel.
The Senate bill would authorize $60 billion to spend on the proxy war in Ukraine and $4.8 billion to “support key regional partners in the Indo-Pacific,” a portion of which will go toward replenishing arms sent to Taiwan.
The US has always sold weapons to Taiwan since severing diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 but never financed the purchases or provided the weapons free of charge through military aid until last year.
The bill also provides $2.44 billion to US Central Command and to “address combat expenditures related to the conflict in the Red Sea,” where US naval forces have been bombing Yemen and downing Houthi drones and missiles. Since January 12, the US has bombed Yemen at least 16 times, and the situation in the region continues to escalate as the Houthis are not backing down.
OUr government’s mission is to blow up our currency apparently…
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A common sense update on Global-Capitalism versus Sovereign Nations (senior editor at Ronin’s Revelations). February, 2024 edition:
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https://roninhardjan.substack.com/p/americas-shadow-government-behind
Drunken sailors have more checks and balances on their spending than deranged politicians in America. American politicians are all immoral kleptocrats!
Almost as if they didn’t realize they need to borrow all that money from China
Very few foreigners are actually still buying US debt.
Johnson is another AIPAC lapdog ..
Add $118 Billion to the $842 billion allocated for military spending to fall just short of $1 Trillion next year.
It is over that figure. Once black ops are figured in, plus bases that are not in the annual reports, it is over that figure.
You can feel any way you want about the US military spending but a vast majority of it goes to US companies. That means good jobs. (I don’t condone the overspending for war materials but from an economic perspective, it’s fantastic.)
From an economic perspective, it’s just another transfer of wealth from the productive sector to the politically connected sector. Every dollar taken from taxpayers and spent on the military is a dollar those taxpayers can’t spend on things that actually make their lives better (and every job in the “defense” sector is a job taken out of the productive sector).
I agree but from an economic point-of-view, it evens out.
No, it doesn’t “even out.” It’s a net loss to the productive sector. It increases cost of living and depresses quality of life for the benefit of the politically connected. And that’s before and not including when the first bomb gets dropped on the first wedding party abroad.
Isn’t that kinda the “broken windows theory” (if I have the name right) ?
The notion that one could stimulate a local economy by hiring thugs to break peoples’ and businesses’ windows, thereby creating employment in the manufacture & installation of new windows, but it’s a fallacious plan as it’s beset with net-loss metrics not visible on first glance ?
The money literally goes up in smoke. From an economic perspective, war materials are an utter waste of money. The opportunity costs are staggering.
US is Numero Uno waste money spender…!
Heck, why spend money on needed services in the U.S. , or shore up Social Security, when we can burn money killing and being killed. Makes perfect sense. /s
That’s exactly what i say about Putin spending billions for a BS war when he could be helping his country come out of crisis.
LOL … Our economic wizards spreading $118B around the world probably didn’t hear the news this morning of Kiev’s mayor buying a house in Europe, but then they believed they were going to turn the ruble into rubble with their “unprecedented” sanctions. But Putin, who said no to neoliberal economics when Russia was in default in the 90s, kicked the Harvard boys out and when the SMO launched in February 2022 Russia had one of the lowest debt-GDP ratios in the world. Not only didn’t the west rubble-ize the ruble Russia’s economy is stronger today than when his troops entered Ukraine and Russians greet each other daily with the cheer “Thank you Joe Biden.”
Those in the US thanking Joe Biden are either rabid Zionists or on the MIC-money-laundering train. As for the rest of America, most have no thanks to give him and more and more are calling him Genocide Joe. Me, I’m thinking of squirrels, who under threat take time to stuff their cheeks with every nut that’ll fit before they skedaddle, and how the Fed is having to buy our T-Bills to finance our debt.
Maybe Russia isn’t doing THAT well…
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-bleeding-money-liquid-reserves-national-wealth-fund-war-2024-1
“The liquid assets in Russia’s national wealth fund fell 44% from January 2022 to December 2023.” Any idea what the generally accepted accounting principles are for the reporting of a country’s assets frozen/seized by the “rules based international order,” as almost half Russia’s foreign reserves were in early 2022. Or the billions of interest those assets are generating, where do they get booked?
Beyond the fact BI is notably not the most reliable of publications from it’s contested overuse of anonymous sources to it’s refusal to correct or retract proven falsehoods, Ukraine’s government is in chaos as Zelenskyy tries and fails to fire, with no replacement, his popular chief general Zaluzhny and mobilize 500K it doesn’t have, while Russia just keeps atrit-atrit-atriting and leisurely gaining more territory leaving the West desperately seeking a face-saving exit strategy for this war it was supposed to have won 20 months ago with Russia weakened, Putin humiliated and dethroned not chairing BRICS 2024 as it adds new 5 members and plans whether/how to incorporate the 30+ admission applications it’s received under Putin’s chosen 2024 motto of “Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security.” Seems like a good time for a propagandistic Putin hit piece in the sycophantic western media.
This entire administration needs to go into the shitter. I do really try not to wish ill of anyone because it is above my pay grade. But if Biden and Co disappeared tomorrow (or later today would do), I would celebrate. War criminals – all of them.
My loathing for Joe Biden has grown so much that I will likely vote for whomever the republicans come up with, strictly as a protest vote.
You don’t need to vote for either.
And shouldn’t.
I don’t like telling people who to vote for generally, because I am sick to death of hearing who I should vote for. Ultimately, people need to vote (or not) their conscience, critical analysis and not via extortion or anger.
I have friends and family who are star struck over Trump. They sing the same tune about J6, that it as a fraud, that there were 200 FBI agents who were involved, yada, yada. And, that he was a peace maker, savior of the world.
I’m no fan of Trump and he probably encouraged the chaos, but there is nuance, because there were agents and FBI assets. One of the proud boys was actually an asset. Ray Epps was on video telling people to go into the capitol and you can hear people saying, “no”. And yet he was treated by the media as a victim and only got probation.
With the FBI’s history of infiltration, I don’t discount it outright. Plus the hyperbolic nature of how it was 9/11 is insane. It helps the security state target more dissent as terrorists, claim the need for increased censorship and surveillance with manufactured consent: that part is like 9/11. They keep repeating how LE were killed that day, which is an outright lie.
Every time someone mentions the proud boys, my mind screams that Duran Duran song except with “proud boys !” in for “wild boys !”
Don’t know it but will have to look it up.
Trump is not a good person, he shouldn’t have been president. Biden either, for that matter. But he is accurate about the “deep state” chasing him.
Also I’d like Trump to return as Prez so he can sha-HITBEAT a lot of the Authoritarian Left clowns both in & out of gov’t.
The Left -is- “my side” but good gravy does it need a post-COVID, post-Woke house-cleaning.
Would that be the same Trump who supported lockdowns, kept Fauci in charge, and brags about the vaccine? That Trump there? And you think he’s going to do a Post-COVID house-cleaning?
No – it’ll be the Opportunist Trump we know. It’ll be the Trump who recognizes elements on the Left (the powerful, Authoritarian ones) who caused him so much grief the past ~4 years (who also happen to be the most virulent and vehement “Branch Covidians”) and by seeing them eaten, Trump will inadvertently see me (and others of {Left, Libertarian} alignment) fed.
If it hurts the {Left, Authoritarian}s, it’s just fine by me. Trump can be my useful idiot.
With the caveat that I don’t consider authoritarians to be on the “left” (libertarians are the authentic historical left, from which Karl Marx was the first major right-deviationist), my counter to that prediction would be that if re-elected for a second and final time, Trump would likely stop even partially cos-playing as a “conservative” and revert entirely to his prior life-long “progressive” ways. Especially since in his first term he pretty much completed the transformation of the GOP to progressivism on trade, immigration, and welfare statism.
For fear we may be “talking past each other”, permit me a moment to lay out my personal definitions – as I would like if you expanded on yours, as you like ?
A horizontal line, left to right, the x-axis of a quadrant system. A vertical line, bottom to top, the y-axis of this quadrant system. Point {0,0} is the intersection.
X-axis – on the Left of {0,0} are Progressives, the Left, whom I characterize by the notion ‘we support what is best for everyone’ and ‘we want society to advance and evolve’. On the Right of {0,0}, Conservatives, whom I characterize by the notion ‘I support what is best for me and my in-group’ and ‘I want things to stay they way they are or were, for my benefit.’
Y-axis. Up is Authoritarian. “We will accomplish (x-axis goals) by force and coercion”. Down is Libertarian. “We should use reason and logic to convince others to accept and support our (x-axis goals).
Thus you have four quadrants. The Branch Covidians (Left, Authoritarian) said “we will use force and coercion to protect everyone” (from a bad flu). Myself in (Left, Libertarian) say “we should reason and debate our approaches to topics with freedoms and individual rights as paramount”.
The (Right, Libertarian) quadrant – “I would be left unhindered by rules and regulation in order to maximise my own gain and well-being”. The (Right, Authoritarian) – “I will use the full power and authority of society / government to create a state that most benefits myself and my in-group”.
Now, I do not mean to steelman my place and strawman others. Simply that it is selfish vs. selfless & reason vs. coercion. With each quadrant equally valid & equally flawed in its own ways.
As a followup – the Authoritarian Left absolutely exists. It is Political Correctness – every version dating back to the early ’90s, up to and including Cancel Culture ( !!! ) and Woke. It is “we will make society progressive and ‘better’ by shaming and browbeating everyone into compliance.” Thought- and Word-crime’ing from “womyn” all the way up to “diversity & inclusion (but not for thee)”
I’m a paleo-leftist. On a simple left-right chart, the left would consiste of e.g. Thomas Paine, Charles Comte and Charles Dunoyer, Frederic Bastiat, et. al., while the right would include Edmund Burke, Karl Marx, Bernie Sanders, et al.
Interesting, very interesting take !
Two questions – how do you define “left” and “right”, and, how do you define your prefix “paleo-” ?
The terms “left” and “right” stem from the French estates general and later the assembly, in which representatives of the productive class (peasants, farmers, and merchants) say on the left, while representatives of the political class (nobility and clergy) sat on the right. The left was about decentralized freedom (aka libertarianism), the right was about centralized authority (aka statism).
My prefix “paleo” means that I use the definition that prevailed before right-deviationist Karl Marx and his fellow authoritarians cribbed and polluted the “left” appellation.
Nothing in his history can support any belief he’ll revert. He’ll go full fascist and have another incompetent administration. He’s a Buffoon, criminal, and con man.
Putin will be happy though.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/did-trumps-tariffs-benefit-american-workers-and-national-security/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/05/trumps-final-foreign-policy-report-card/
“He’ll go full fascist and have another incompetent administration. He’s a Buffoon, criminal, and con man.”
In other words, his usual progressive crap.
If you say so.
We know. Many people in Moscow are star truck over Trump.
In real life, everyone I associate with claims they are an independent. And every one of them vote for an R or a D. They claim no one else is smart enough to vote third party so they don’t want to “waste” their vote. The irony.
I am in no way voting for criminal conman Trump or genocide Joe. The scales of evil are balanced.
I’d go Trump just because he can hasten the End Times for US hegemony. Democrat presidents just seem to kick imperial collapse 4-8 years down the road.
I think The Donald could have the USA in complete shambles (Cormac McCarthy / Margaret Atwood style) by summer ’26…2027 at the latest.
They’re working extra hard at it right now.
That’s why he’s not gonna win. He may even be campaigning from prison (or some other form of lockup). The US makes mistakes but does stand up for our allies.
Nothing will change because they’re both feathers of the same war loving “bald 🦅”.
Oh I know that. But that was my position before the Ahole endorsed ethnic cleansing and started three new military adventures in just one year. I still don’t know for certain who’s running against Biden, but I do know Biden is poison.
It will continue. The two party war machine needs to be broken into a million pieces like shattered glass.
Write in, go third party or boycott the presidency altogether would be my advice.
It is not just Biden or the Democrats in general, the other side is equally in fear of AIPAC, plus the other sugar daddies plunking money in their campaign coffers. Problem is the receiving is on a Quid Pro Quo arrangement that they cannot worm out of. We get kicked to the curb.
It’s not just AIPAC. It’s plutocrats and their soldiers, the security state and all who help to profit the MIC. We don’t make stuff except for debt and war machinery. The economy runs on this crap because we have deindustrialized, farming out manufacturing to cheap labor in other parts of the globe. The US bullies to keep this slavery intact as well as access to resources.
Then it’s 100% guaranteed that you’ll vote democrat in 2028. This is what they count on.
To be replaced by another. Mr. Trump was no peacenik. He followed President George W. Bush’s lead by withdrawing us from a treaty with Iran, plus two with Russia, then, moved our U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, armed Ukraine with javelin anti-tank missiles, upped drone attacks over what occurred during the Obama administration.
If it were possible, I would nominate the late Major General Smedley Butler as POTUS.
All of our adminstrations since Kennedy needed to get flushed. They are all reasons why we are where we are now mostly bankrupt and despised throughout the Southern Hemosphere.
US foreign policy is like a fucking merry go round at an amusement park. It never slows down until the park closes for the day. The next day it starts again.
Excellent utilization of bad language!
I apologize for profanity but I am very pissed off at the things the Government is doing.
America is rushing toward an economic disaster with nobody taking their foot of the gas.
Putin is dumping his tax payers money to fund his personal war so Great, Let’s give Ukraine what it needs to fight off the Russian cancer and BRING RUSSIAN TROOPS HOME!
Plenty of money for war but not infrastructure.
https://us.yahoo.com/news/russians-freezing-soviet-era-infrastructure-060356275.html
Such bills should be able to substantially increase the US cost of living and thereby, perpetuating the ongoing housing crisis. Unlimited 💸💰 printing should cause massive fissures in the pockets of ordinary people, thus, bringing the country to the point of total civil war. Arm and fund your allies all you want but Palestine, Russia and Yemen will never back down from this war. They’re in this for the long haul and won’t back down from any Western issued gauntlet.