A short but interesting article on waste, overspending & the military-industrial complex in the USA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/arch...lia/72454/

Quote:In other words, we're spending more on this plane than Australia's entire GDP ($924 billion).

Libertarians and Dems voted down the proposed extra engine last month, saving $3.8 billion over a few years.... Boheners big govt republicans and the democrat 'moderates' were outnumbered 233 to 198.

"The vote was another instance in which some of the new legislators, including several affiliated with the Tea Party, broke ranks with the House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, where the engine provided more than 1,000 jobs."

http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/vot...house/1/46
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/pol....html?_r=1

Still it's fuck all, the US govt spends 6 billion a day.

(March 21, 2011 at 9:29 am)Jaysyn Wrote: A short but interesting article on waste, overspending & the military-industrial complex in the USA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/arch...lia/72454/

Quote:In other words, we're spending more on this plane than Australia's entire GDP ($924 billion).

F-35 may or may not merit its cost. But the article substitutes hysterical hyperbole for analysis. So what if the entire F-35 program, likely to run for at very least 50 years, should cost more in nominal (non-inflation) adjusted dollars, over it's entire life span, than australia's current year GDP in current dollars? How is "GDP of australia" an all purpose benchmark?

As to the alternate engine program, again it may or may not be worth it's cost, or be well designed and managed. But its justification is not hard to see. Without it, past 2030, when the previous generation of fighters all retire, the entire US inventory of fixed wing tactical combat aircraft in all branches of services will be powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. There had been past experiences with Pratt & Whitney enjoying semi-monopoly in providing fighter engines for just the air force, and the company had proven its willingness to leverage it's position to decline to address serious, safety related, shortcomings in it's offerings. There had also been experiences in the past with Pratt & Whitney's remarkable improvement in responsiveness when General Electric was contracted to provide an alternative fighter engine.

It's not about the deficit.

It's never been about the deficit.

If it was, we'd see both defense spending and the tax cuts for the top 2% on the table.

It is to some people, just not the cunts who are solely concerned with their next election cycle.

Some people genuinely give a shit about the looming debt crisis and collapse of the US dollar:

http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/N...PLAN/42216

Cancelling the Bush tax cuts would sort of help, rather than loosing 1.6 trillion this year you'd only lose 1.2 trillion....

Tough medicine? Yep. Got to be done though.

Quote:Some people genuinely give a shit about the looming debt crisis and collapse of the US dollar:

But most of the rich cocksuckers merely see it as an opportunity to fuck the poor and expand their own agenda.

Dontcha know, the US needs to keep spending big on defense so they can stomp those stick wielding sand-niggers flat.

(March 21, 2011 at 9:29 am)Jaysyn Wrote: A short but interesting article on waste, overspending & the military-industrial complex in the USA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/arch...lia/72454/

Quote:In other words, we're spending more on this plane than Australia's entire GDP ($924 billion).

Progressives have OPENLY opposed the constantly growing government waste and spending, yet we never have our demands met with seriousness. Obama, whom some claim to be a progressive, didnt even CONSIDER putting military spending on the table to even suggest cutting it back. Anyone who suggest military cut back in a position of authority will more than likely eat a bullet in their brain. Anyone suggesting the shutting down of the CIA or DEA or FBI will find themselves as worm food as well.

So naturally they go after things that arent as mortally risky. Education, sociali security, elderly, poor children...it FUCKING DISGUSTS ME!

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(March 21, 2011 at 3:59 pm)DeistPaladin Wrote: It's not about the deficit.

It's never been about the deficit.

If it was, we'd see both defense spending and the tax cuts for the top 2% on the table.

THANKYOU. The teabaggers rode the wave against the deficit right back into business as usual in DC.

(March 21, 2011 at 4:59 pm)Minimalist Wrote:

Quote:Some people genuinely give a shit about the looming debt crisis and collapse of the US dollar:

But most of the rich cocksuckers merely see it as an opportunity to fuck the poor and expand their own agenda.

Not event the Rich can profit from a dollar that plummets in value, they stand to lose the bulk of their wealth.

And when Obama proposed spending 9bil on public health they wanted to hang him.

And that is just a fraction of what the U.S defence budget is($690billion per annum).