“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies- in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 16, 1953
Incredibly, even as Willard Mitt Romney "won" last night, by emulating a jacked-up rat on coke, and spewing out lie after lie, he actually LOST as he left open an amazing admission by way of omission. At least twice, President Obama directly noted Romney's intent to increase the Pentagon budget by $2 trillion - money which the Pentagon doesn't even want and which has nothing to do with making a capable fighting force. Each time, Willard Mitt declined to deny it, even though he rabidly denied any intent to cut taxes by $5 trillion.
Mitt's decline of denial means he fully intends to pursue it, which brings up the question: WHERE is he going to get the money? Even if Mitt magically manages to find enough cuts to balance the budget hole formed by $5 trillion in tax cuts, that leaves a question to be begged. But will Mitt deal with it? I doubt it. While his clueless imebecile followers, who lack the intellect to solve even 2 + x = 4, yap like dogs that it's an issue of 'masculinity' ("All sissies not in favor can leave for Castro's Cuba!") and projecting power, it's really a simple question of math.
We are currently in a $16 trillion cumulative deficit. $6.4 of those trillions evolved over Bush Jr's watch by launching two unpaid for "wars" - actually prolonged occupations, and a massive pair of tax cuts in 2001, -03. How does Mitt plan to fund an additional $2 trillion for defense if he adamantly refuses to raise taxes? This is the $64 question his imbecile followers need to ask themselves, if they are even capable of self-reflection, but I doubt it.
Ok, let us assume for the sake of argument that Mitt can cover his ass and the $5 trillion tax cut defict hole by finding enough spending cuts - say closing loopholes in the tax code. (Are his brilliant followers who may have kids aware one of those has to be the child tax credit?) Most financial mavens such as Gillian Tett and Chrystia Freeland of The Financial Times dispute any such remote possiblity - but let's assume by some magic we're not aware of or privy to he can do it.
That still leaves the problem of finding the $2 trillion he wants to give the Pentagon fat cats, defense contractors without blowing a hole in the deficit he purports to care so much about. But before we get to that let's lay out some back story and current facts for the Blowhard bloggers who worship Mitt's every word and purported deed. (Funny, because barely a year ago they were dismissing him as they embraced Hermann Cain. Funny how times change!)
Start with the fact it is now more than ten years and counting since the Pentagon "misplaced" more than one trillion dollars of defense funding-tax dollars, as was then elaborated by former defense analyst, Chuck Spinney. See also:
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_spinney.html
That trillion isn't small change by any means and could fund the salaries of 100,000 teachers for 15 years, a much better investment than constructing 2,588 F-35s that may never be used. And for which current asymmetric war methods would likely render redundant.
Then there's the argument that the country is "getting weak" and we are no match for the Russkies or Chinese. This doesn't wash but it's the sort of "argument" that passes muster amongst the Repuke clones. That truth is that the US is the biggest war-monger the world has ever known, and spends more on defense than the next 25 nations including Russia, and China! This fact matters if a presidential candidate is talking about adding $2 TRILLION more to that defense budget. Because then one must - if rational- regard the proposal as one for malignant WASTE!
Let’s start with its budget. The US, in fiscal year 2012, budgeted a total of $673 billion for the military, plus another $166 billion for military activities of other government departments, such as the nuclear weapons program, much of which is handled by the Department of Energy, or the Veterans Program, which pays for the care and benefits of former military personnel. There’s also another roughly $440 billion in interest paid on the debt from prior wars and military expenditures (most of it going to the Chinese). All together, that comes to $1.3 trillion, which represents close to 50% of the general budget of the United States -- the highest percentage of a government budget devoted to the military of any modern nation in the world -- and perhaps of any government of any nation in the world.
That spending represents also the world’s biggest percentage of national gross domestic product devoted to the military (GDP is a measure of all economic activity in a nation). Looking at the other countries with big militaries -- China, Russia, Britain and France -- not only does not one come even close in terms of the percent of GDP spent on its military, but taken together, all of their expenditures on their military combined total less than half what the US spends by itself.
Most dastardly of all is the existing cheating and subterfuge! Since the 1980s the U.S. government has engaged in a dedicated sleight of hand whereby it's hidden the scale of its military spending from the American people. It has done this by adding to the federal budget (for defense) the amount of money spent on Social Security, the nation's retirement program, and Medicare, the health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.
Why not a correct accounting? Because THOSE programs are separately funded by payroll taxes paid in by employees and employers. Hence, we are looking at a 'bait and switch' deal of astounding magnitude!
One reason the US military budget is so huge is that the US operates some 900 bases abroad, in what amounts to a program of global empire. It is estimated that the cost of keeping those bases operating is about $250 billion. If Romney plans to add $2 trillion to the deficit for defense and not pay for it then it means he must either want to expand those existing bases, or construct many more new weapons - with the money pocketed by defense contractors of course.
Again, WHERE does Mitt get the money to finance this Pentagon, Military -Industrial complex budget blowout? We don't know because he won't say, but we know at least half of that money would arrive or could arrive if Mitt made every current Medicare beneficiary pay 80% for any operations (including knee and hip replacement surgeries) as well as cancer treatments. This is as opposed to the 20% co-pay for most current operations. Of course, Mitt the Rat will deny this to his dying day. He will deny it as he did the $5 trillion tax cut he had planned for 18 months. Why not?
Maybe then, or perhaps....one of his blustering, blowhard followers could explain to us where that money will come from. But wait, how can they, if they can't even solve a simple equation like 2 + x = 4?
Oh, another question for the muscle-headed paper patriots: Are you PROUD that under Romney's increased defense spending we will be tripling the interest paid to the Chinese? From $440b current to over $1.2 trillion? So they will be able to make ever more weapons to use against us, if that need ever arose? THINK about that before you answer!
No comments:
Post a Comment