Southern Pork
Even with the economy reeling, conservatives in Congress are demanding a boost in military spending; confirming once again that the largest special interest group in Washington is the Department of Defense.
Republicans use patriotism and fear to bludgeon Democrats into supporting bigger and bigger defense expenditures. Southern senators –including the Democrat’s Blue Dogs --view military spending as a jobs program.
They want to devote tens of billions of the stimulus package to the military. “If bridges need fixing, so too do the tools with which our military fights,” wrote a military analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.
U.S. military spending is close to $1 trillion a year. No other nation spends even one-tenth as much. The costs for our war machine equal the military spending of the globe combined. You could put together the next 13 largest navies and ours would still be larger. Not to mention that 11 of those navies are our allies.
And do we really need military bases all over the world?
Military spending increased 60% since George W took office in 2001, not including the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he kept off the books.
At a press conference earlier this month, President Obama took aim at the Pentagon when he said “we are spending money on things that we don’t need, and we are paying more than we need to pay.”
DOD is legendary for its cost overruns. A 2008 GAO report showed that from 2000-07 the cost of major new defense programs had grown some $300 billion over original estimates. Army Times notes the typical defense system was 26% over budget and 21 months behind schedule, but its Tim Geithner the GOP hawks scream at for wasting taxpayer dollars.
The amount we waste on unnecessary weapons systems would pave miles of highways and build thousands of new classrooms. We’ve spent zillions on missile systems that in tests are successful only 50% of the time even when we know the exact flight path of the missile.
Some make the point that lavish new weapons systems aren’t needed to fight a foe that has relied on box-cutters for its most destructive attack.
But you won’t hear that from Republicans in Congress. They prefer to rant and rail about money Democrats want to spend to provide every American with health care. As Rep. Joe Barton of Texas put it before Obama’s healthcare summit: “Not all of the Democrats’ ideas are objectionable. Just nearly all.”
Republicans use patriotism and fear to bludgeon Democrats into supporting bigger and bigger defense expenditures. Southern senators –including the Democrat’s Blue Dogs --view military spending as a jobs program.
They want to devote tens of billions of the stimulus package to the military. “If bridges need fixing, so too do the tools with which our military fights,” wrote a military analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.
U.S. military spending is close to $1 trillion a year. No other nation spends even one-tenth as much. The costs for our war machine equal the military spending of the globe combined. You could put together the next 13 largest navies and ours would still be larger. Not to mention that 11 of those navies are our allies.
And do we really need military bases all over the world?
Military spending increased 60% since George W took office in 2001, not including the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he kept off the books.
At a press conference earlier this month, President Obama took aim at the Pentagon when he said “we are spending money on things that we don’t need, and we are paying more than we need to pay.”
DOD is legendary for its cost overruns. A 2008 GAO report showed that from 2000-07 the cost of major new defense programs had grown some $300 billion over original estimates. Army Times notes the typical defense system was 26% over budget and 21 months behind schedule, but its Tim Geithner the GOP hawks scream at for wasting taxpayer dollars.
The amount we waste on unnecessary weapons systems would pave miles of highways and build thousands of new classrooms. We’ve spent zillions on missile systems that in tests are successful only 50% of the time even when we know the exact flight path of the missile.
Some make the point that lavish new weapons systems aren’t needed to fight a foe that has relied on box-cutters for its most destructive attack.
But you won’t hear that from Republicans in Congress. They prefer to rant and rail about money Democrats want to spend to provide every American with health care. As Rep. Joe Barton of Texas put it before Obama’s healthcare summit: “Not all of the Democrats’ ideas are objectionable. Just nearly all.”
posted by Victor Kamber | 3:09 PM
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