Who Should Pay for the US Military Budget?

[21STEELERS21]

The defense budget is only part of our military budget, many of the other agencies including Energy, NASA, CIA, Homeland Security, etc....
have military spending in them. I've seen estimates that the real military budget is near 1.3 trillion per year and at least 25% of this is to
maintain 1000 plus overseas military bases. If we were just protecting citizens from harm and protecting the homeland our military spending
could be greatly reduced. The bulk of our military spending is really going to make the world safe for globalization with US Corporations
and all the other nations getting a free ride on the US taxpayer.

And the ironic thing is our Corporations get this free ride and in turn ship jobs to other parts of the world because the US taxpayer has
funded keeping the world safe. The US taxpayer is being played for being the fool.

Seems to me that worldwide Corporations who benefit from this security should be contributing to funding it and the US taxpayer should
get some relief.

 

[Steeltime]

The US taxpayer is being played for being the fool.

I would take you a little more seriously if you had ever protested yet another government giveaway.

Seems to me that worldwide Corporations who benefit from this security should be contributing to funding it and the US taxpayer should get some relief.

So the United States will impose a tax on a Mexican, or Canadian, or Chinese, or British, or Swedish corporation ... how?? Invade those countries and install a finance minister?

Do you ever think through your comments before posting them?

 

[Steelers Rule!]

I would take you a little more seriously if you had ever protested yet another government giveaway.



So the United States will impose a tax on a Mexican, or Canadian, or Chinese, or British, or Swedish corporation ... how?? Invade those countries and install a finance minister?

Do you ever think through your comments before posting them?

C'mon maaaan. No way thinking happens in posts like that....

 

[hamster]

I am so much smarter for having read this thread.

 

[Confluence]

We Canadians with free health care thank yinz for your contribution to whirled peas!!

Grab a Coke and a smile!

 

[Superman]

are you going to incorporate this knowledge into your best-selling book that is to be launched in .... when is that again?

 

[EdReed4Prez]

Cut the defense budget. Give the money back to the people under the condition that it must be spent on guns and ammo, to help establish a well regulated militia...

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Defense is the only area of the government where Liberals think we spend too much.

 

[EdReed4Prez]

Im fully on board with cutting defense spending in half, along with all other spending.

 

[TAS]

How much do we spend on lifetime welfare so people can run around all night *******, partying, and killing each other? That's the biggest waste of money I'm fairly certain.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

are you going to incorporate this knowledge into your best-selling book that is to be launched in .... when is that again?

After he sells his upscale, Chrysler Seabring...using those proceeds to get his mega #1 Best Seller published.

In other news, this thread and post may just take the cake for being 21's most "unintelligent" (I'm felling nice today) post on this board.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

How much do we spend on lifetime welfare so people can run around all night *******, partying, and killing each other? That's the biggest waste of money I'm fairly certain.

Only Social Security is going to run out of money, never welfare.

 

[Troglodyte]

Defense is the only area of the government where Liberals think we spend too much.

And conservatives want to cut spending on everything except defense, social security and Medicare... so nothing at all really.

 

[Vader]

And conservatives want to cut spending on everything except defense, social security and Medicare... so nothing at all really.

Then you don't know any conservatives. Almost everyone on this board has talked about spending cuts and raising the retirement age. Yet you somehow either don't remember it or you can't deal with it.

I've even talked about entire departments that need to be shut down. I'd shut down the dept. of education and energy right now. Both have failed miserably at what they were designed to do. I'd raise the retirement age to 70. I'd scrap the ACA. There are tons of things that can be cut. And that's just off the top of my head.

 

[Spike]

at least we're not running out of beer - socialism sucks


Venezuela could run out of beer by next month

Venezuela could stop making beer by August, as local breweries run out of ingredients needed to produce the country’s most popular alcoholic drink. A brewery shutdown would reduce the country’s beer supply by a terrifying 80 percent, according to industry leaders

http://fusion.net/story/172856/venezuela-could-run-out-of-beer-by-next-month/

----------------------

 

[Sarge]

Im fully on board with cutting defense spending in half, along with all other spending.

I would cut a whole lot of stuff far before defense. Cutting defense 50% would be suicidal IMHO. There are plenty of wasteful government agencies and programs that could be cut without the country feeling a blip. Defense isn't one of them.

 

[Steeltime]

And conservatives want to cut spending on everything except defense, social security and Medicare... so nothing at all really.

Troglodyte, do you know why Republicans - who previously wanted to implement cost-saving measures for Social Security and Medicare and announced specific, detailed plans for doing just that - are now afraid to make the same recommendations today? Because when they last did so, they were subjected to the ninniest, whining, crying, weeping cauterwauling ever foisted on the American people by Democrats and their ideological brethren in the media:

George W. Bush:

Q: Where do you get the $1 trillion over the next 10 years to continue paying benefits?

BUSH: There is a problem for our youngsters. We’ll honor our commitment to our seniors. But for our children, we need to have a different strategy. I believe that younger workers ought to be allowed to take some of their own money and put it in a personal savings account, because I understand that they need to get better rates of return than the rates of return being given in the current Social Security trust.

KERRY: You just heard the president say that young people ought to be able to take money out of Social Security and put it in their own accounts. Now, my fellow Americans, that’s an invitation to disaster. [As compared to the current idea to simply have Social Security stagger into bankruptcy in the next 20 years.]

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/George_W__Bush_Social_Security.htm

What other options would the president consider to make Social Security solvent? President Bush again ruled out increasing the payroll tax -- which is 12.4 percent of one's wages up to a certain cap ($90,000 this year). But in his remarks Wednesday he said, "fixing Social Security permanently will require an open, candid review of the options. ... I will work with members of Congress to find the most effective combination of reforms." Among those he cited as "on the table" were:
limiting benefits for wealthy retirees;
indexing benefits to prices rather than wages;
increasing the retirement age; and
discouraging taking Social Security benefits early.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/02/retirement/stofunion_socsec/

From the buttoned-down confines of a Senate hearing room to a boisterous outdoor rally nearby, Democrats took on President Bush and his Social Security proposals with gusto on Tuesday and rebuffed pleas for bipartisanship from frustrated Republicans. “If he’s going out to push for privatization, let’s help him pack,” Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said to cheers from a sun-splashed crowd on the lawn across the street from the Capitol. He was ridiculing Bush’s heavily publicized 60-day tour to build support for his proposals.

“Personal accounts unravels the Social Security safety net in a way that makes it hard to find common ground,” said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, one of several Democrats who criticized the president’s recommendations at a lengthy Senate Finance Committee hearing.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7641965/n...de-marks-social-security-debate/#.VbahXflUMxI

So the Dems have made SS and Medicare sacred cows, and are frothing at the mouth at the thought of attacking any Republican who proposes implementing changes to either to promote long-term financial stability, and the media will vilify and attack any Republican who does so ...

While saying nothing about the fact that Obama took $700 billion from Medicare to help pay for Obamacare.

So to the extent you criticize conservatives for failing to take on the massive spending in Social Security and Medicare, realize why they are not interested in the fight - the goddam thing is rigged to give Democrats and their media allies grounds to rip Republicans as "heartless" and willing to let grandma die on the street.

The Dems made this ****-fest bed. **** 'em. Let them lie in it.

 

[Stoney]

I say we do it by capping earnings in Hollywood. No actor/actress can make more than $3mil/year, and no movie can make more than $5mil above cost, everything else is confiscated by the Government to pay for social programs. Then the money we currently spend on social programs can go toward our military.

 

[IndySteel]

I would cut a whole lot of stuff far before defense. Cutting defense 50% would be suicidal IMHO. There are plenty of wasteful government agencies and programs that could be cut without the country feeling a blip. Defense isn't one of them.

Exactly. Shitcan all the needless wasteful spending. There would be enough money to double the defense budget and provide massive tax cuts.

 

[Stewey]

I say we do it by capping earnings in Hollywood. No actor/actress can make more than $3mil/year, and no movie can make more than $5mil above cost, everything else is confiscated by the Government to pay for social programs. Then the money we currently spend on social programs can go toward our military.

That strategy could be applied to athletes as well. The best athlete to make $5mil/yr....owners revenue to be capped as well.

 

[Steeltime]

I say we do it by capping earnings in Hollywood. No actor/actress can make more than $3mil/year, and no movie can make more than $5mil above cost, everything else is confiscated by the Government to pay for social programs. Then the money we currently spend on social programs can go toward our military.

I love it.

And you know what, a lot of those actor-guys smoke, so it's almost like a stab at big tobacky.

 

[Troglodyte]

Then you don't know any conservatives. Almost everyone on this board has talked about spending cuts and raising the retirement age. Yet you somehow either don't remember it or you can't deal with it.

I've even talked about entire departments that need to be shut down. I'd shut down the dept. of education and energy right now. Both have failed miserably at what they were designed to do. I'd raise the retirement age to 70. I'd scrap the ACA. There are tons of things that can be cut. And that's just off the top of my head.

Talk is cheap unless you're campaigning for election.

Would you take away benefits, of current retirees under 70? What would be the grandfather clauses?

 

[EdReed4Prez]

I would cut a whole lot of stuff far before defense. Cutting defense 50% would be suicidal IMHO. There are plenty of wasteful government agencies and programs that could be cut without the country feeling a blip. Defense isn't one of them.

We could cut in half, and we'd still double the spending of China and Russia combined. You could trim fat off this government everywhere with a damn broad sword.

 

[Vader]

Talk is cheap unless you're campaigning for election.

Would you take away benefits, of current retirees under 70? What would be the grandfather clauses?

Then why ask me a question if it doesn't matter? Why are you even on here discussing it? Are you campaigning? I'm not.

 

[Spike]

We could cut in half, and we'd still double the spending of China and Russia combined. You could trim fat off this government everywhere with a damn broad sword.

I do think that wasteful military spending should be shut down, but more money is spent on social security and medicare/medicaid than on the military


"The US government spent $3.454 trillion in 2013. In descending order of magnitude (percentage of total) categories of spending (in billions) were: Medicare and Medicaid, $851 (25 percent); Social Security, $808 (23 percent); defense, $625 (18 percent)"

http://www.reporterherald.com/opinion/letters/ci_25776821/budget-priorities-are-out-balance-us