Budget Deficit result of "Insane Defense Spending" not SSI or Medicaid

[FreakinDJ]

In 2008, the most recent year for which complete global data is available, the U.S. approved $696.3 billion in defense budget authority (fiscal 2010 dollars). This figure includes funding for the Pentagon base budget, Department of Energy-administered nuclear weapons activities, and supplemental appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan.

This number is eight times more than Russia, 15 times more than Japan, 47 times more than Israel, and nearly 73 times more than Iran.

http://armscontrolcenter.org/issues/securityspending/articles/US_vs_Global/

[grasswire]

1. and that doesn't include black budgets. nt

[valerief]

7. +1000

[dkf]

2. Defense spending is projected to steadily decrease as a % of GDP.

The problem with future projections is mostly MEDICARE. Oh and interest on the debt which will grow and grow and grow as long as we have deficits.

These projections grow even considering the ACA which bent the curve a little bit but not much.

Then consider Canadian health care which covers all their people. Look at all these other countries who have covered all their people:

2006:
UNITED STATES: 15.9 pct of GDP, $6,657 per capita

CANADA: 9.7 pct of GDP, $3,430 per capita

FRANCE: 11.1 pct of GDP, $3,807 per capita

GERMANY: 10.7 pct of GDP, $3,628 per capita

ISRAEL: 7.9 pct of GDP, $1,533 per capita

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5504Z320090601?irpc=932

[Joel thakkar]

5. Here is a possible solution

1) How about we increase the medicare tax for the rich (or just remove the SS Cap and transfer few money to medicare fund)?

2) Instead of steadily decrease, how about we cut it by at-least 1/3 (33% to help reduce our current deficit immediately) and then have a steadily decrease?

[dkf]

6. It's not the taxes that are the problem it's the expense!!!

We pay way more than other countries in health care costs and we don't even cover everyone! If we get our health care costs in line we don't need to tax more, we don't need to cut more spending.

[FreakinDJ]

8. How about a "Peace Dividend" - Cut Defense Spending by 50%

[PDJane]

3. The United States military is the world's single largest polluter, too.

That happens when you leave cluster bombs, open-air burn pits, DU, defoliants, jet fuel components and other junk all over the landscape.

[avaistheone1]

15. +100 US Military largest user of oil

[dawg]

4. Offense is much more expensive than defense.

Although defense wins championships.

[FreakinDJ]

9. Russia has niether because Defense Spending Bankrupted the Country

[dawg]

11. Oh, I think Russia could defend herself ...

quite adequately.

[FreakinDJ]

19. BWHAhaha .... Selling off submarines and paid rides in Mig 21s

Your kidding right

[dawg]

21. No. I'm not.

They have a nuclear arsenal sufficient to reduce an aggressor's cities to glowing ash. They don't have the ability to project significant power on a global basis anymore. But they are more than capable of defending themselves.

[bluestate10]

10. Exactly right. I don't understand why the President and Democratic members of Congress

don't point that out more often and put numbers behind their facts. Americans need to know why the deficit is what it is and what caused that.

[Enthusiast]

17. They do not want it mentioned.

We never hear the real cause of the deficit. They know the American people would be very angry to find they have been misled.

[on point]

12. Plus Bush tax cuts. We were just 5 yrs before paying it down until the pukes blew up the deficit.

[Quixote1818]

13. This should get a lot more recs. This is a HUGE problem!!! nt

[Lobo27]

14. A few weeks back on Bill Maher...

A conservative was saying that we needed to spend more on defense because we could not let Russia or China fight our wars. That mentality will doom our nation, how can you even make that argument...

[indepat]

16. How could anyone in their right mind fail to realize a nation, with 5% of the world's population,

but spending 44.32% of the entire world's expenditure on national defense, practices "insane defense spending?" But such would not properly take into account that to exert global hegemony, must build a lethal arsenal of the most advanced and sophisticated weapons systems in order to achieve acceptable kill ratios even against third-world peoples of color.

[Enthusiast]

18. Plus one................nt

[jsr]

20. Recommend