How much does the U.S spend on military

Originally posted by soficrow
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...and the important question is not how much, but "Where is it going?"

International private security firms, mercenaries and defense contractors get most of the money. Our soldiers are left without armor or air cover, and their families live on food stamps. Contractors manipulate public opinion by saying soldiers need support, then redirect the cash to private contracts.

Wrong. A young enlisted person in the armed forces makes as much if not more than they could in the private sector with a college education. The government provides housing and health care. Those who require outside aid do so primarily becuase of poor choices on their part.

And they are part of the best supported and equipped military in the world. Not perfectly equipped - but that can't be expected. I have no pity whatsoever for the few that whine about how poorly they are treated. They are a small minority of the overall armed forces - but the section that the media most likes to focus on. I find it particularly upsetting when a Guard/Reserve member who has been making a signifigant amount of money for doing basically nothing complains as soon as they are asked to earn their paycheck.

[edit on 6-2-2005 by Starwars51]

Wouldnt say so, over here a paramedic makes more than a combat medic until he or she reaches corporal.

Originally posted by devilwasp
Wouldnt say so, over here a paramedic makes more than a combat medic until he or she reaches corporal.

Not here. In most places in teh US Paramedics make little more than minimum wage. Also, most paramedics don't get all of their education payed for.

For some highly career fields you can make more in the private sector - but the idea that people are on food stamps because the military won't support them is baseless.

[edit on 6-2-2005 by Starwars51]

Originally posted by Starwars51
Not here. In most places in teh US Paramedics make little more than minimum wage. Also, most paramedics don't get all of their education payed for.

Wow, you guys realy dont respect the people that save your lives....and i thought these heartless SOB's here that critise the NHS were bad...

For some highly career fields you can make more in the private sector - but the idea that people are on food stamps because the military won't support them is pure BS.

Well, do privates wifes live on the base?
NO they live at home, what they do at home isnt really the army's buisness.

The United States spending budget is somewhere along the lines of unlimited I think . Its alot, and I still get confused on how our tax returns are brought back to us and how that whole tax deal goes. But the U.S basically gets what they want. Because we are taxed, we are stuck with seeing new worthless crap pop up like parking garages.

Thats good then, it shows you care about your citizens..
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well more of our gdp goes towards health and education than any other country.
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Wait, allies?
I thought britain WAS your european ally full stop...actually you are still number one in spending..
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what the hell? dont start that crap, you dont know what i think of europe, dont assume, i never said we werent number one but when you compare vs gdp we arent even in the top 10, ahead of european militaries but still.
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12 CBG's is insane!
Thats 12 battle fleets , thats a crazy amount of ships!

Today's battlegroup consists of a carrier, one or more cruisers, several guided missile destroyers, several anti-submarine warfare destroyers, several frigates, and various replenishment ships.
Now tell me why does america need 12 battle fleets???
Who in thier right mind needs 12 battle fleets?
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no, they usually are 6 ships per cbg, different ships depending on the mission, the 60-80 aircraft, missilles, etc is what makes cbg's valuable with our tactics the way they are, why change and use less capable ships when we have bigger and better availiable to us which makes things easier and can stay at sea much longer.

Originally posted by devilwasp

Wow, you guys realy dont respect the people that save your lives....and i thought these heartless SOB's here that critise the NHS were bad...

I agree the wages are lower than they should be (typically less than $10/hour) - but there are reasons. 1) there is no shortage of paramedics who will work for that amount and 2) ambulance services are expensive enough without having high wages.

Well, do privates wifes live on the base?
NO they live at home, what they do at home isnt really the army's buisness.

YES, most bases have housing for enlisted people with dependants. If they do live off base they recieve a basic allowance for housing.

For example, an E-3 with dependants (such as a wife, also an E-3 is the lowest rank that is typically allowed to live off base at all) would recieve a BAH of $1444 (tax free) in Chicago, a Captian (O-3) would only recieve $400 more ($1872).

Perhaps you should avoid commenting on things that you have no knowledge of.

BTW - All US Military pay information is available at www.dfas.mil...

Originally posted by Starwars51Not here. In most places in teh US Paramedics make little more than minimum wage. Also, most paramedics don't get all of their education payed for.

waa? thats untrue, heck my uncle was a paramedic and makes far above minimum wage, youre way wrong.

8per hour? i'd say most make 18 from the many i've met.

[edit on 6-2-2005 by namehere]

Originally posted by devilwasp

Yeah, but why the hell dont you guys stop going out and getting into the hotspots!

Because between our own national security, the UN, and always being the nation that helps every other country that has some problem (see tsunami) we need to be able to quickly be able to respond while having the ability to still protect our nation from other threats.

Note - without all those ships, how many more people would have died? Those carriers are the ones giving them clean water, food, and medical suplies.

Well it should be first to look after thier citizens not to make them the most heavily armed!

The most heavily armed military is the best protection for it's citizens

Yeah, but the cost of it on the US tax payer is crazy, i mean why do you need super fighters 20 years in advance of the nearest competitor?

As it has been shown, only a small part of our tax dollars % wise go towards the military. We spend so uch simply because our economy is larger then most continents economies combined.

The super fighters (I assume you are reffering to the F/A-22 Raptor) were designed during the cold war, we had already poured BILLIONS into it, and as it happens, our current air superiority fighter - the F-15 - is a 30 some odd year old design. It is obsolete in todays world. Russia has better performing airraft, and so do you (Eurofighter), so we just got our ersion of what everyone else has gotten, only ours is a lot better and a lot more expensive. Honestly, you sound like a kid on a playground crying 'no fair' because a bigger stronger kid beat you.

And why does the US need to be a super power?

Well, I prefer the term 'hyper power' because super power tends to imply that their is another power equal to your own such as in the cold war. In any case the US doesn't need to be a superpower, but the fact is we are inheritly a super power because of our enonomy. We dominate world politics because of it and also dominate with our military because of it.

Against WHAT enemies is what we are all getting at...
The chinese present no danger if left alone, dealing with terrorists does not require the use of a carrier battle group!

This sounds familiar.....Kind of like wetern Europe during the 1930's....

Hmmm, lets see. How many MILLION men are in the North Korean army? South Korea is our ally, and we will defend her ecause of it, just like we would have protected western Europe is Russia had invaded, just like we tried to protect south Vietnam, just like we saved Kuwait, Etc Etc

And believe it or not, China DOES pose a threat if the US did not have such a military. They would try to invade every country they could.

Russia, while less of a threat then before, still has a military capable of posing a threat

The US has the doctrine of being able to engage in two wars in two different theaters. That is an ability we see as crucial to national security.

And again, lets not forget if there were EVER some major action tht the UN would need to take it would be the US muscle that would do it.

The bottom line is we can easily afford to pay the money to have such a dominate military, so why wouldn't we? Rich people don't NEED that Bently - they could just get a nice Honda - but then what is the point of all tht money? If we spend it on the military we help our economy while also making the US a stronger nation.

And in the end, what do you care? You do not pay for it, and our military is the one that will protect you come hell or high water, so why not just be happy that your best ally in the world also happens to have the greatest military ever assembled?

I know this is a terrible thing to say here at ATS, but did any of you ever think to actually go to www.whitehouse.gov...
and download the budget?

I mean, I know that most people here are allergic to any kind of real research, but we're talking about a very short time in order to get to the OMB files in .pdf form!

Why lie when the truth is so easy to come by?

And the 2004 defense expenditures are 18.8 percent of the federal budget, and spending on medicare, welfare, social security, and HUD are about 61.1 percent

Originally posted by American Mad Man
Because between our own national security, the UN, and always being the nation that helps every other country that has some problem (see tsunami) we need to be able to quickly be able to respond while having the ability to still protect our nation from other threats.

So you keep 12 battlefleets to save people from a tsunami?
No there is no threat to national security big enough to require the use of 12 battlefleets.

Note - without all those ships, how many more people would have died? Those carriers are the ones giving them clean water, food, and medical suplies.

Question , how many ships did the US send?

The most heavily armed military is the best protection for it's citizens

No the best protection is haveing no enemies, why do you think canada has never been attacked?

As it has been shown, only a small part of our tax dollars % wise go towards the military. We spend so uch simply because our economy is larger then most continents economies combined.

Still the military seems to be the main concern of every polition and pres, why?

The super fighters (I assume you are reffering to the F/A-22 Raptor) were designed during the cold war, we had already poured BILLIONS into it, and as it happens, our current air superiority fighter - the F-15 - is a 30 some odd year old design. It is obsolete in todays world. Russia has better performing airraft, and so do you (Eurofighter), so we just got our ersion of what everyone else has gotten, only ours is a lot better and a lot more expensive. Honestly, you sound like a kid on a playground crying 'no fair' because a bigger stronger kid beat you.

Yeah, but you already have supposedly better fighters , F18,F-15E, ETC.
I am questioning the crazy ammount of money spent on the military and not on other things.

Well, I prefer the term 'hyper power' because super power tends to imply that their is another power equal to your own such as in the cold war. In any case the US doesn't need to be a superpower, but the fact is we are inheritly a super power because of our enonomy. We dominate world politics because of it and also dominate with our military because of it.

Yet luxomburg is richer yet they dont spend as much on military...

This sounds familiar.....Kind of like wetern Europe during the 1930's....

That's diffrent you dont have a country recently in economic colapse or just had a major world war.

Hmmm, lets see. How many MILLION men are in the North Korean army? South Korea is our ally, and we will defend her ecause of it, just like we would have protected western Europe is Russia had invaded, just like we tried to protect south Vietnam, just like we saved Kuwait, Etc Etc

That is a fine reason to defend someone, but didnt the US state it had a million plus army?

And believe it or not, China DOES pose a threat if the US did not have such a military. They would try to invade every country they could.

That is just paranio and fear working there.

Russia, while less of a threat then before, still has a military capable of posing a threat

Yet what would they gain out of a conflict?
Nothing infact they would hurt themselves more.

The US has the doctrine of being able to engage in two wars in two different theaters. That is an ability we see as crucial to national security.

Thats almost as crazy as our old two power idea.

And again, lets not forget if there were EVER some major action tht the UN would need to take it would be the US muscle that would do it.

Really, funny as i remember there are lots of countries with fine militaries in the UN willing to fight if needed.

The bottom line is we can easily afford to pay the money to have such a dominate military, so why wouldn't we? Rich people don't NEED that Bently - they could just get a nice Honda - but then what is the point of all tht money? If we spend it on the military we help our economy while also making the US a stronger nation.

What about those that cant benifit from the military?
What about those that DONT want to join the services?
The fact is the US is still military based culture and this seems crazy to me.
[quote[
And in the end, what do you care? You do not pay for it, and our military is the one that will protect you come hell or high water, so why not just be happy that your best ally in the world also happens to have the greatest military ever assembled?
I am worried about WTF your military does!
It affects me because my country is your ally and what you do we must support!
Your country places too much power in one mans hands.

Originally posted by Starwars51
Perhaps you should avoid commenting on things that you have no knowledge of.

Funny i researched more than 3 seperate paramedics in the US and the basic pay rates from o1 to o10.

to answer the title of this thread:

How much does the U.S. spend on military?

in two words:

TOO MUCH!!!



[edit on 7-2-2005 by Souljah]

You shouldn't be worried about what our military does, it only goes after defiance.

oh and I dont think our military budget is to high, I know it will lower a few billion in the FY06 budget, but I wouldn't mind if it went up to 500 billion.

i don't know if this is accurate, but its an interesting site...

www.costofwar.com

Originally posted by Starwars51

Originally posted by devilwasp
Wouldnt say so, over here a paramedic makes more than a combat medic until he or she reaches corporal.

Not here. In most places in teh US Paramedics make little more than minimum wage. Also, most paramedics don't get all of their education payed for.
[edit on 6-2-2005 by Starwars51]

wso true, my dad who is a volunteer EMT for the local rescue squad, and on the local EMA board. said that a regular emt make around 6-7 bucks a hour, and a paramedic make around 12-13 bucks per hour, but the worst part is they get no sick leave, which i think over all is very crummy conisdering how much they do, have had to go on some of the calls when i had nowhere else to go.

but now im a honorary member of the resque squad since i have more training on cave resque than most of the regular members.


correct me if im wrong, but i read somewhere that the black budget was A LOT higher than 30 billion, and like only 1/3 or 2/3's when to the actual projects, and the rest went to keeping it secret.

if i remeber correctly it was around like 1 trillion, but thats seems high.
ill try and find where i read that.

I don't know where you guys get your information but, on average, EMT's make between $10 and $20 an hour. I have a friend in the field.

hondaboy
correct me if im wrong, but i read somewhere that the black budget was A LOT higher than 30 billion, and like only 1/3 or 2/3's when to the actual projects, and the rest went to keeping it secret.

if i remeber correctly it was around like 1 trillion, but thats seems high.
ill try and find where i read that.

1 trillion, thats way to high. you are very off on your numbers, or the site you got them from was made by a 1st grader.

Thats the thing about the black budget, no one (except a few in high places) knows how its being spent. It could be to keep area 51 off limits and to keep classified specs, classified. OR It could be completely spent on just building the black crafts, or also it might also include the R&D on them.

Originally posted by deadpresidentz
I don't know where you guys get your information but, on average, EMT's make between $10 and $20 an hour. I have a friend in the field.

Location, location, location. Your sig says you live in Baltimore, not exactly a place wiht "average cost of living" In most of the country a paramedic makes somewhere around $7-$15/hour. Obviously places with a higer cost of living pay more.

Originally posted by deadpresidentz
I don't know where you guys get your information but, on average, EMT's make between $10 and $20 an hour. I have a friend in the field.

Several sources actually, how many hours a week does he work?