Defense spending in Nevada up 35 percent in three years

[Judi Lynn]

Today: April 03, 2005 at 10:52:40 PDT

Defense spending in Nevada up 35 percent in three years

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Major defense contract spending in Nevada jumped 35 percent since the war on terrorism started Sept. 11, 2001, according to government figures.

Nevada companies reaped more than $439 million last year from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and other defense agencies. In fiscal 2001, the Pentagon spent $323 million in the state.

Overall, the Department of Defense in fiscal 2004 awarded a record $241 billion in contracts, pumping 56 percent more taxpayer dollars into the states compared to 2001 spending.

In Nevada, some of the extra spending can be tied directly to military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Other sums reflect ongoing missions and maintenance at Nellis Air Force Base, the Fallon Naval Air Station and Hawthorne Army Depot, officials said.
(snip/...)

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/apr/03/040310673.html

[dArKeR]

1. Military spending is less efficient. We were taught that it's a ratio

of about 3 to 1. Thus 3 dollars spent in the Military Industrial Complex, one could do the same with 1 dollar spent in the private sector. Thus all this debt money spent by the Bushies and still look at our economy!

You can listen to the Media Whores about this up, production up, unemployment that, interest rates this... but take a look at the country. I've done some traveling over the last year and everywhere I've been I've seen nothing but busted side walks, curbs, roads (country, city and federal), broken down parks, dirty unmaintained public buildings, sevices cut back and/or large rate increases... Just open your eyes.

[Zorra]

2. Buh continues the family tradition of shameless war profiteering.

Bush Uncle Profits From Contractor

(AP) President Bush's uncle made more than $450,000 last month by selling stock in a defense contractor whose profits are growing because of the Iraq war, records show.

William H.T. Bush made the money by exercising stock options in St. Louis-based Engineered Support Systems, Inc. Bush is a member of ESSI's board of directors and therefore had to report the sale to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bush, the youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, did not return a telephone message seeking comment Wednesday afternoon. He told the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the stock sale Wednesday, he had not pulled any strings in Washington for the company.

ESSI on Tuesday reported record income of $20.6 million for the three months ending Jan. 31, a 31 percent increase.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/23/politics/main676097.shtml

I just bet the old republican run Carlyle Group is raking in the war profits even faster than our tax money can pay them.

[Festivito]

3. With 20% of expenditures on our Credit Card. Arrrgh!

"The economy is doing so well!!" According to RebumbliCONs.

Gee, if I spent and extra 25% over my salary on a credit card each year, I'd feel like my economy was well too!

But, that is under 5% of my company's gross receipts, so that's okay! ... NO IT'S NOT OK!!!

(And, I don't even think they are under 5% anymore.)

If anger's a gift, I'd like to give you something.

[punpirate]

4. Because of tax cuts and war spending...

... it's much more than 25%. The `thugs want to compare everything to the total budget--around $2.6 trillion. But, half of that is covered by payroll taxes, and currently funds SS and Medicare--its accounting is entirely separate.

Therefore, the so-called discretionary budget is about $1.3 trillion (entirely covered by general tax revenues), of which, last year, about $620 billion was funded by debt (combination of public bonds and internal government bonds issued by the SS trust fund). War spending, for example, is declared as supplementary, so it is automatically off-budget, so that is entirely funded by debt.

For that reason, the amount on the credit card is actually 48% extra last year--all directly due to tax cuts and spending on war.... Now that the tax cuts for corporations and for the wealthy are really starting to kick in, one can see the extent of the damage done--to the deficit.

Cheers.