Speaking today in Baghdad, outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen reiterated his warnings that the national debt is the “biggest threat we have to our national security” because all that debt is getting in the way of increasing military spending.
Mullen had previously made the comments in Detroit in August 2010, during which he complained that the yearly interest on the debt was quickly approaching the level of the military’s own annual budget.
Mullen’s speech once again appeared entirely disconnected from the reality that the soaring debt is in large measure the result of runaway military spending, with the underlying assumption that the economy’s health is important for no other reason than to pay for more wars.
Today’s comments were materially identical to the previous ones, except for a shout-out to the current debt deal, which didn’t really address the growing debt. The same, of course, could be said of the military budget this year, which likewise did nothing to address its growth.
The main idea behind “raising debt ceiling” is about US militarism regime to be able to spend as much as they wanted too. War is where the money goes, not the education or healthcare.., if the trend will continue .., sooner or later they will start stealing from Social Security and other source of peoples money .., George W. Bush and his group of warmongers were about to do that.., steal from Social Security to pay for war and planed wars by Paul Wolfowitz.., every president in US in one way or the other hade a same agenda to put a war after his name.., now is Barack Hussein Obamas turn to continue the same legacy.., otherwise he would start talking and taking action from day one in closing bases around the world and not starting a new war in Libya, closing the bases in US and making sure that healthcare would be a universal for everyone and free educations for everyone by cutting the pentagon budget in half.., that would pay for free education and healthcare and social security wouldn’t be touched.
Since when is Mullen an expert economist?
Until tanew order is established, and it may not be too far off, the military is in charge of doing as they are told. That is why the President is Comander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
So what does this Mullen want? Do we surrender benefits to the unfortunate along with paid for social security and medicare so this guy can go off and kill people for no reason What fun I could have with this bozo if I had the pen of a Voltaire of Mark Twain.
Oh my God! Does this mean no more fresh fruit cup at the officer's club on steak night– Oh the humanity!
THIS JUST IN: DEBT IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO FUTURE VACATIONING
This entire situation is ridiculous. If you don't have the money to do something, YOU DON'T DO IT. I can't just decide I'm going to go on an extended vacation, and tell each hotel and restaurant and gift shop that I'll pay for everything in a few years- it just doesn't work that way.
The United States government is supposed to be filled with the best and brightest this nation has to offer- and they can't balance a checkbook? They can't figure out how to pay down our debt? Here's a hint: DON'T KEEP SPENDING AND BORROWING.
Pay down our debt, balance our books, and live within our means. If it's good enough for the average Joe, it's good enough for the government- you know, that outfit that's supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people?
The real problem is not the debt; it is the crumbling economy and almost 20%, in real figures, jobless. No functioning economy = more debt. The jobs are gone, people no longer have money to spend.
No spending = deflation = the great depressions.
Wars are the biggest threat to national security. Debt is a threat to all the frivolous offensive wars- and thankfully so. Since there isn't the intelligence or the will in Washington to put an end to them, the debt will have to do. Regardless, we're on our way to Athens and it will all come to an end.
Military officials should be barred from speaking out on policy. Violations should result in the sacking of that military official.
Debts are incurred by the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) the greates danger to American economy and ultimately to mankind. So debts may well turn out to be a blessing by ending endless wars. What we see here is capitalism running amok. Propaganda often argued that China had adopted the capitalist system. Recent developments belie this argument. China's economy is doing well and getting better by the day. Is this the beginning of the demise of the American Military Empire and world domination and the rise of the Chinese (Rusian ?) empire ? Time will tell.