the "domestic programs" set in place are not the removal of law enforcement people as he says...but those other domestic programs like college grants or medicare medicaid or welfare are none of the FEDERAL governments buisness anyway...also..we have the best and most expensive military in the world because we have the best most valuable country in the world that has a huge target on it and is secretly despised by most other countries in the world...stay stronger than them so they dont attack
@bklee83 A strong military to deter attack or to defend the country in case of attack or invastion is one thing. Trooping around the world attacking countries who never attacked us in the first place, policing the world and subverting foreign governments proping up dictatorial regimes abroad for control and access to resources, etc. that is all quite another thing. A lot of horrible things happen in the world, there are a lot of terrible tyrannts in charge of many countries, we can't fix it all.
@bklee83 Why do we still have bases in Europe? WW II ended in 1945 and the Soviet Union is gone. Tell the Europeans to take care of their own defense and security. Why are we still in Japan? Tell Japan to take care of itself.
@xexixk seriously??? after ww2 we FORCED japan and germany to dismantle their military and in exchange we were to provide them with defense...they have earned the trust of the nations of the world again and are now slowly building their militarys again...aside from that...the other military presence we keep in other areas of the world are to 1: provide some stability and 2: to protect what we think will be an asset to us...but no...i dont agree with trying to "police the world"
@bklee83 I understand about after the war, I'm talking about now 66 years after the end of WW II. There is nothing wrong with a strong military as a detterence to attack, that's in any country's self interest. As for Germany - all the EU countries share common defense responsibilities, we must insist they beef up their own defenses and look after themselves, Japan as well. Interventions abroad also must be more judiciously weighed, we can't reform the world.
@xexixk i totally agree....but look at it from the other side...war is a dirty job and noone WANTS to do it...being able to commit so much to any war machine(military) as the us can and does is something not many countries in the world can...AND...if someone is protecting you...your not going to be very inclined to spend money to do what they are doing for you when you could put that money to good use else ware
@bklee83 Yes that is a major part of point - that they have to be put in a position where they beef up their own security. Something like "we are closing these bases in X amount of time, you need to build up your security over that time." As for wars, I can think of few conflicts after WW II that we (the US) were involved in that were truely justified, and the hypocrisy can be nauseating. Support a tyrannt for a few years, then not support him and go to war with him, subverting govs, etc.
One of the things the U.S. could do is what one general termed "lilly pads." Basically the U.S. puts a few U.S. troops on bases of host countries. If troops are needed in the area, they are put on those bases. The U.S. could also dump most of it's subs (nothing to sink) and the whole B-52 fleet (which are no longer able to quickly fly into enemy territory because they will be shot down). 50 amphibious assult ships can deliver more aircraft and troops than what most nations have.
Agreed. 1st, how much money is the enemy spending ? Looks like they are massively more efficient if we should fear them so much. 2nd: Define victory ? They can't. So there is no goal. But the gov't seemed very effective in cutting off money from wikileaks and in bullying business partners, and tripping up their server presence. Money & guns were not needed. So I wonder if there is a detailed accounting where the $700B actually goes.
What we really need is to get off the war-time budget that the military has been on since at least 1947 when the national security state we live in was established. It is nothing short of outrageous and scandalous that none of the media outside of YT types even mention it. Well maybe Ron Paul and Ralph Nader have. We could have had something close to a heaven on earth in this country but for this budget. We should start treating the citizens as if they mattered. Let's give peace a chance.
They're talking about military cuts. While there are some guys saying that we need to cut the budget, but the military can not only not be cut, but must continue to increase, there are a lot of people also saying well, yeah, we'll make some military cuts too, whatever. But anytime they come up with a specific proposal, what they're going to cut from the military budget is soldier pay, benefits, and health care.
I remember 30 years ago, a group of professors at MIT formed a "disarmament study group"..they mapped out all the things we had from nuclear subs to ICBMs etc., and they pointed out how much better off the economy could be if we planned for only fighting two wars at a time instead of I don't remember..maybe the standard was 3-4 wars. They also explained how many more jobs would be created by the same tax money being invested in the civilian economy.
The real issue isn't about deficit spending per se. It's about the US govt having built a military empire and now having to maintain it. It has nothing to do with protecting ourselves from terrorists or communists. We've created our own enemies, but the problem is in doing so we've created a problem that can't be dealt with except by making the problem worse. If we ended our military empire, our economy would collapse and the US would lose it's power around the world.
@MarmaladeINFP We used to have an economy that wasn't built on debt and was instead built on manufacturing. We are almost at the point of no return (if we aren't there already). It somewhat relates to the gold standard. The US currency has been based on various things in the past, but now our economy is only backed by US military power. People trust the dollar because people fear the US military empire. But the chickens will eventually come home to roost.
Does it make sense to be cutting back police forces around the country while at the same time employing our troopsw overseas to guard poppy fields for drug lords? Give me a break!
Once we mine the lithium from Afafghanistan (and other metals) and then drill the oil from Iraq....we'll be golden and recoup the "investment" we are making in those 2 countries right now.
After all, there has only been a couple million innocent people killed by the US during our fight for "freedom" in said countires. We are speading democracy and liberty to our friends living in Iraq and Afghan...just not to those scary boogie men we call terrorists right?
Once we mine the lithium from Afafghanistan (and other metals) and then drill the oil from Iraq....we'll be golden and recoup the "investment" we are making in those 2 countries right now.
After all, there has only been a couple million innocent people killed by the US during our fight for "freedom" in said countires. We are speading democracy and liberty to our friends living in Iraq and Afghan...just not to those scary boogie men we call terrorists right?
I am agreeing with you. My hubby and I are both disabled and live on SSI. For the past 2 years we have not had a cost of living increase and yet the cost of living has increased. Friends have had raises in their pay but since the cost of living increased it didn't matter so much. But now our soldiers are dying and being maimed and some are homeless after serving, and there are really not very many programs to help them once they get out. It's ridiculous.
the "domestic programs" set in place are not the removal of law enforcement people as he says...but those other domestic programs like college grants or medicare medicaid or welfare are none of the FEDERAL governments buisness anyway...also..we have the best and most expensive military in the world because we have the best most valuable country in the world that has a huge target on it and is secretly despised by most other countries in the world...stay stronger than them so they dont attack
bklee83 10 months ago
@bklee83 A strong military to deter attack or to defend the country in case of attack or invastion is one thing. Trooping around the world attacking countries who never attacked us in the first place, policing the world and subverting foreign governments proping up dictatorial regimes abroad for control and access to resources, etc. that is all quite another thing. A lot of horrible things happen in the world, there are a lot of terrible tyrannts in charge of many countries, we can't fix it all.
xexixk 8 months ago
@bklee83 Why do we still have bases in Europe? WW II ended in 1945 and the Soviet Union is gone. Tell the Europeans to take care of their own defense and security. Why are we still in Japan? Tell Japan to take care of itself.
xexixk 8 months ago
@xexixk seriously??? after ww2 we FORCED japan and germany to dismantle their military and in exchange we were to provide them with defense...they have earned the trust of the nations of the world again and are now slowly building their militarys again...aside from that...the other military presence we keep in other areas of the world are to 1: provide some stability and 2: to protect what we think will be an asset to us...but no...i dont agree with trying to "police the world"
bklee83 8 months ago
@bklee83 I understand about after the war, I'm talking about now 66 years after the end of WW II. There is nothing wrong with a strong military as a detterence to attack, that's in any country's self interest. As for Germany - all the EU countries share common defense responsibilities, we must insist they beef up their own defenses and look after themselves, Japan as well. Interventions abroad also must be more judiciously weighed, we can't reform the world.
xexixk 8 months ago
@xexixk i totally agree....but look at it from the other side...war is a dirty job and noone WANTS to do it...being able to commit so much to any war machine(military) as the us can and does is something not many countries in the world can...AND...if someone is protecting you...your not going to be very inclined to spend money to do what they are doing for you when you could put that money to good use else ware
bklee83 8 months ago
@bklee83 Yes that is a major part of point - that they have to be put in a position where they beef up their own security. Something like "we are closing these bases in X amount of time, you need to build up your security over that time." As for wars, I can think of few conflicts after WW II that we (the US) were involved in that were truely justified, and the hypocrisy can be nauseating. Support a tyrannt for a few years, then not support him and go to war with him, subverting govs, etc.
xexixk 8 months ago
One of the things the U.S. could do is what one general termed "lilly pads." Basically the U.S. puts a few U.S. troops on bases of host countries. If troops are needed in the area, they are put on those bases. The U.S. could also dump most of it's subs (nothing to sink) and the whole B-52 fleet (which are no longer able to quickly fly into enemy territory because they will be shot down). 50 amphibious assult ships can deliver more aircraft and troops than what most nations have.
orlock20 1 year ago
Oh, they aren't being excluded. Only, the cuts to the military come in the form of healthcare cuts to the VA.
anastasia81472 1 year ago
Agreed. 1st, how much money is the enemy spending ? Looks like they are massively more efficient if we should fear them so much. 2nd: Define victory ? They can't. So there is no goal. But the gov't seemed very effective in cutting off money from wikileaks and in bullying business partners, and tripping up their server presence. Money & guns were not needed. So I wonder if there is a detailed accounting where the $700B actually goes.
tenagliac 1 year ago
What we really need is to get off the war-time budget that the military has been on since at least 1947 when the national security state we live in was established. It is nothing short of outrageous and scandalous that none of the media outside of YT types even mention it. Well maybe Ron Paul and Ralph Nader have. We could have had something close to a heaven on earth in this country but for this budget. We should start treating the citizens as if they mattered. Let's give peace a chance.
robran53 1 year ago
@robran53 But that would require the common man in the US to get civically(? is that a word?) active *gasp*!
TiradeFaction 1 year ago
Comment removed
robran53 1 year ago
good stuff
TheAist 1 year ago
They're talking about military cuts. While there are some guys saying that we need to cut the budget, but the military can not only not be cut, but must continue to increase, there are a lot of people also saying well, yeah, we'll make some military cuts too, whatever. But anytime they come up with a specific proposal, what they're going to cut from the military budget is soldier pay, benefits, and health care.
Capitalocracy 1 year ago
and why can't the no-bid "corporations" that profit from said wars be the ones to front the money?
exactly.
onlywhenprovoked 1 year ago
I remember 30 years ago, a group of professors at MIT formed a "disarmament study group"..they mapped out all the things we had from nuclear subs to ICBMs etc., and they pointed out how much better off the economy could be if we planned for only fighting two wars at a time instead of I don't remember..maybe the standard was 3-4 wars. They also explained how many more jobs would be created by the same tax money being invested in the civilian economy.
givebirthathome 1 year ago
Sadly entitlements are the first thing they cut it seems. War takes precedence over everything, doesn't it? :o(
ninamichelle77 1 year ago
No argument from me :)
55ella2007k 1 year ago
The real issue isn't about deficit spending per se. It's about the US govt having built a military empire and now having to maintain it. It has nothing to do with protecting ourselves from terrorists or communists. We've created our own enemies, but the problem is in doing so we've created a problem that can't be dealt with except by making the problem worse. If we ended our military empire, our economy would collapse and the US would lose it's power around the world.
MarmaladeINFP 1 year ago
@MarmaladeINFP We used to have an economy that wasn't built on debt and was instead built on manufacturing. We are almost at the point of no return (if we aren't there already). It somewhat relates to the gold standard. The US currency has been based on various things in the past, but now our economy is only backed by US military power. People trust the dollar because people fear the US military empire. But the chickens will eventually come home to roost.
MarmaladeINFP 1 year ago
Cutting all of the civilians in DOD by drafting them all as E-1s would solve your
complaints. Eliminating the Police would also make life a bit more interesting
for a few days while saving a lot of money.
If we would stop whining about security and remember this is supposed to
be "The Home of the Brave, and the Land of the Free".
I see you failed your economics classes....GRIN
tyrbolo 1 year ago
Obama Care needs 2 go!! Also 95% of the clowns that are on SSI need 2 be cut off and put in jail for running their game on the US Tax payer!!
MadBadVoodo 1 year ago
Does it make sense to be cutting back police forces around the country while at the same time employing our troopsw overseas to guard poppy fields for drug lords? Give me a break!
minnman47 1 year ago
End war before war ends us.. This old quote says it all I believe.
neotoy 1 year ago
Though I wholeheartily agree with you the arguments are the same old lines.
The defense industry employees alot of people.
We need a strong defense to guarantee our way of life.
Etc....
But one undeniable fact is that the defense industry contributes an incredible amount of money to politician's war chests in return for favor
It's sad but THAT'S the American way.
grumpychuck 1 year ago
We first need to just end the stupid wars we have going on. To hell with spending money in the middle east. We cant be their mama. sink or swim time.
Bring the troops home now. they need to be with their wives and kids, Securing our borders can be their job.
snoopdog68 1 year ago
@snoopdog68 And drill 4 our own oil!!! Time 2 tell the Green Peace Whack Jobs 2 F OFF!!
MadBadVoodo 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Once we mine the lithium from Afafghanistan (and other metals) and then drill the oil from Iraq....we'll be golden and recoup the "investment" we are making in those 2 countries right now.
After all, there has only been a couple million innocent people killed by the US during our fight for "freedom" in said countires. We are speading democracy and liberty to our friends living in Iraq and Afghan...just not to those scary boogie men we call terrorists right?
Fighting for freedom (yeeeah)
mejt223 1 year ago
Once we mine the lithium from Afafghanistan (and other metals) and then drill the oil from Iraq....we'll be golden and recoup the "investment" we are making in those 2 countries right now.
After all, there has only been a couple million innocent people killed by the US during our fight for "freedom" in said countires. We are speading democracy and liberty to our friends living in Iraq and Afghan...just not to those scary boogie men we call terrorists right?
Fighting for freedom (yeeeah)
mejt223 1 year ago
I am agreeing with you. My hubby and I are both disabled and live on SSI. For the past 2 years we have not had a cost of living increase and yet the cost of living has increased. Friends have had raises in their pay but since the cost of living increased it didn't matter so much. But now our soldiers are dying and being maimed and some are homeless after serving, and there are really not very many programs to help them once they get out. It's ridiculous.
kelliko70 1 year ago