The Military Industrial Complex has us by the balls!
When do Americans wake up to fact DoD gets too much of our tax dollars? Hw much is enough?
"Why the US Spends So Much on the Military, and Why it is Becoming Unsustainable"
By Chloe Longstreet · March 8, 2017
https://www.opslens.com/2017/03/08/us-defense-spending-global-hegemony/
"I distinctly remember the shock and disbelief I felt when I first learned that the United States spends more money on its military than the next eleven countries combined. This was in my first year of college, and at the time the fact was only given to me, not explained at all. All I was told was that it was wrong that we lobbied to cut support programs like welfare when we spent so much on our military, as it was obviously unnecessary."
Right, cut entitlements for PEOPLE, Americans, so we can kill foreigners. That makes sense, right?! No! It is not obvious nor is it necessary folks. You are being led by the nose by the Military Industrial Complex Dwight D. Eisenhower warned you about in the 1950s.
"Personally, I believe welfare programs do benefit our economy, and I spent years defending the argument that we should cut military spending without really understanding why the United States spent so much on the military. Then I studied international politics and I began to understand why the seemingly excessive military spending has been a very important part of the strategy to keep peace in the world, and why it was actually important."
What about soft power, diplomacy by our State Department, and how do you know America's interventions led to anything good overseas?
Hegemony?
"The general idea is that it is easier to maintain world-wide peace if there isn’t anyone who is willing to challenge US military strength. It requires a commitment by the US to intervene if any of its allies are attacked, and the need to maintain a very, very large military. One that is so big that no nation will even be tempted to combine forces with another nation to challenge US authority. Thus the need to spend more than the next eleven countries combined."
So despite the fact we have oceans of defense, Canada, and Mexico to protect US, we need to protect all of our Allies too? The argument is suspect in my opinion, that we need to keep this up forever, spending, spending, spending.
Notice how other countries benefit from our largess while we have homeless way beyond what we should have.
"Much of Europe spends far less on their military than they used to because they have become accustomed to the fact that the US will intervene if they are attacked. Countries like India and China have experienced unprecedented economic growth, partially because there has been no need for them to invest too heavily in their military with the US standing over them as the world’s police. If the military budget of the US was cut in half, the temptation for another nation to try to compete with us would grow and potentially destabilize the balance of power that currently exists in the world."
Are we really better off with all our defense spending? Are we fooling ourselves? The truth is to get real economic growth we should not spend so much on defense.
"When the United States began pursuing a strategy of hegemony, we were living in a time of economic prosperity and tremendous growth. It was easy to spend more than the next several countries combined because there was a lot of money to go around. Additionally, the number of actors who were potential challengers to US authority was smaller than it is now, which meant that the US could spend less and still remain the unquestionable authority. But the world stage looks a lot different now than it did twenty years ago."
What is our best choice? I think we should "hunker down" to protect our borders from attack like Switzerland. Use our natural protections of oceans and geography for part of our defense planning. Tweety is gambling by buying more weapons, which can lead to a bankrupt country and a lot of unhappy poor, homeless Americans over time.
"Some argue that the US needs to prepare for the world’s military climate to change all together, and that we should adopt a strategy that is more conducive to a multi-polar (meaning more than one country shares world power and influence) world. President Trump does not appear to be preparing for this potential eventuality. Rather, he is gambling on continuing a strategy of hegemony. Let’s hope he is right."
Hope is not a strategy!
One does not have to read this story to know DoD budgets are NOT sustainable simply from the fact maintenance alone for more and more weapons drives budgets up and up and up and up!
Then there is the lack of credible PROCESSES! Earned Value Management Systems are used to ensure weapon systems are managed effectively and efficiently. It's still not happening!
Rather than going to NATO and demand they spend more on defense or we will not defend them, why don't we just spend less ourselves!? We do not need to outspend the total budgets of the next 11 countries!
A friend said we need defense (Army, Navy, Air Force, etc) to protect America. This after saying entitlements are too big, we need to reduce them.
This stupid idea that giving DoD huge budgets and reducing entitlements is moral and right and necessary is insane!
Tweety went to NATO, and told our Allies, essentially, to stop spending so much on social programs and start spending 4% GDP on weapons. That's the American way, endless increases in defense spending.
"U.S. Defense Spending Compared to Other Countries" May 7, 2018
https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison
"The United States spends more on national defense than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, France, United Kingdom, and Japan combined. While the chart above illustrates last year’s defense spending in dollar terms, the United States has historically devoted a larger share of its economy to defense than many of its key allies.
Defense spending accounts for 15 percent of all federal spending and roughly half of discretionary spending. Total discretionary spending — for both defense and nondefense purposes — represents only about one-third of the annual federal budget. It is currently below its historical average as a share of GDP and is projected to decline further."
This is absurd! Do you really think America needs to spend this much to be more secure? No other country thinks that way. America's thinking on security is paranoid and perverted! America is afraid, VERY AFRAID, and cowardly bullies other countries with of DoD spending.
"U.S. Military Spending vs. the World"
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/us-military-spending-vs-world/
"
The U.S. outpaces all other nations in military expenditures. World military spending totaled more than $1.6 trillion in 2015. The U.S. accounted for 37 percent of the total.
U.S. military expenditures are roughly the size of the next seven largest military budgets around the world, combined."
This is truly insane. DoD cannot mange all this money effectively or efficiently.
"The Top 15 Countries For Military Expenditure In 2016 [Infographic]"
Niall McCarthy Contributor Apr 24, 2017,
"
Global defense spending has increased for the first time since 2011, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In total, countries around the world splurged $1.686 trillion on arms in 2016, a 0.4 percent increase on 2015.
The United States remained at the top of the military spending league last year with $611 billion. That's 36 percent of the global total and over three times the amount spent by second-placed China. Russia upped its outlay 5.9 percent to $69.2 billion, third overall, according to the Swedish think tank."
This reads like the world has bought into the NRA notion that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. The problem is that we do not know who is the good guy. Even the United States has been the bad guy - see IRAQ!
DoD doesn't need all the money Congress gives it, and DoD doesn't know how to use it right anyway, and soldiers do not fight better with more money because of poor decisions and tactics/strategies, yet allowing Americans to go without education, become and remain homeless and starve, kids and adults alike, and generally become miserable as the income gap widens unmercifully is OK, is insane!
INSANE!
As far as I can tell he "best" fighting force in the world in the Israeli fighting force since they do not spend as much, do not put forth large armies to fight in far off places, and manage to kill the bad guys more often than the good guys. Israelis are not saints, but they manage their defense budgets better than any country I know of is my GUESS.
I am probably wrong as spending on weapons almost always seems wasteful.
"Israel Shells Out Almost a Fifth of National Budget on Defense, Figures Show"
State spending is more than six times what industrialized nations and Arab countries drop, on average; in 2011, defense cost the Israeli economy about NIS 66.8 billion – more than 50% on salaries.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-report-20-of-budget-goes-to-israel-s-defense-1.5229839
Moti Bassok Send me email alerts Feb 14, 2013
I can say from working and studying defense budgeting and acquisition for 44 years, March 1970, started in the Air Force - July 2014, finished with Raytheon Company using Earned Value Management to try to bring programs in on schedule, under budget, and delivering the expected weapon system, that the United States is wasting, wasting, wasting money on DoD.
Too often DoD spends multiple BILLIONS of tax dollars, an adds more to the spending to deliver a weapon system LATE, OVER BUDGET, and with a COMPROMISED TECHINAL CAPABILITY.
I state my view here that as America pends more and ore on defense,, we are doing more harm to America than ANY enemy.
America fights wars we do not need to fight given two huge oceans on each side of our country, our coasts re long, and borders with Canada nd Mexico. Why did feel it necessary to "save" Korea? Why did need to "save" Viet Nam? e fought poorly and made many stupid mistakes in both wars.
America LOST the wars in Korea and Viet Name nd earned a reputation as an invader.
The war in Iraq was worse than any war we have ever fought, primarily because it proved not only that we do not fight well considering how much money we have to spend to kill people and destroy an entire country.
DoD waste BILLIONS! America proved untrustworthy. America was now a pariah, a belligerent, and the enemy of true peace everywhere in the world.
Trump said we will not be the world's policeman, yet we are policing the world and threatening Iran, North Korea, and others with bullets and bombs.
Sogt power is diminished, and that leaves only bullets and bombs.
