That's the way I see it as well. i'm not saying that environmental issues aren't important but so is defense. There has to be a balance of spending in both regards. The moral majority unfortunately has become the big spenders and reckless borrowers, but don't try to tell them that. Their closed mindedness and arrogance got them what they deserve.

Originally posted by MagnumOverDrive
That's the way I see it as well. i'm not saying that environmental issues aren't important but so is defense. There has to be a balance of spending in both regards. The moral majority unfortunately has become the big spenders and reckless borrowers, but don't try to tell them that. Their closed mindedness and arrogance got them what they deserve.

The amount of money spent on defense is mind boggling and don't go with the official figures given. Just recently the pentagon could not account for 2.3 trillion dollars because of "insufficient paperwork", meaning black budget!

Please tell me and forget that I am mild liberal why exactly do we need to spend hundreds of billions(if not trillions) on new weapon systems when the cold war with russia is over and china is fast becoming a capitalist nation??? Also are we paranoid over iran who could barely fight a weak iraq several decades ago? Oh yea they might have a nuke or two but how exactly will they deliver it 2000 miles to europe or 8000 miles to the usa? Its one thing to have nuclear, chemical and biological weapons but delivering them to their target is quite tougher....

I am not saying we don't need a military because that would be insane and keeping on guard is always smart but if you do the math you will see an overkill budget that is totally unnecesary. We need to substantially decrease DOD spending and funnel that money for social reform especially national healthcare and social security which is on the verge of bankcruptcy. I find it absurd and demeaning that the worlds greatest superpower with the highest standard of living refuses to create a public program to care/treat people without involving private insurance firms. As far as I know every other respectable nation worldwide has installed such a system and it works fine. Why shouldn't the USA?

I have even heard republicans wanting to do away with public schools! They want EVERYTHING PRIVATE because it is in their best interest financially speaking. Off course they would! They want to suck the blood of the working class and eventually funnel everything to the top.

We continue to develop new weapons so that we can sell arms around the world. It has become our biggest export. People are making big money on defense contracts not only domestic but also foreign . if we sold them the weapons we are using and those weapons got into the hands of an unfriendly nation we would be putting our county's safety at risk. i have that from first hand sources. we never sell weopon systems to allies which we are not able to defend against ourselves.

Do I wish that the world was a friendlier place and there was no need for such wasteful spending , yes. . The world is not a friendly place and our allies in many cases require us to supply them with advanced military equipment.

It is a self perpetuating circle of one upmanship. Always needing the latest and greatest! It's has become our area of expertise, and many people around the world are thankful for it.
What gripes me the most is that some of the counries who are buying our weapons are doing so with the money we give them for humanitarian aid. That is just not right and I would like to see that handled in a different way.

Originally posted by MagnumOverDrive
Do I wish that the world was a friendlier place and there was no need for such wasteful spending , yes. . The world is not a friendly place and our allies in many cases require us to supply them with advanced military equipment.

While the world is not a friendly place, its not quite as bad as some think.

Of course that depends on what you call friendly! All I know is that we have'nt had a major war for many decades. Thank God! A few skirmishes here and there, while not acceptable, isn't always avoidable but IMO that does'nt justify spending hundreds of billions. I think you get my point!

Originally posted by MagnumOverDrive
It is a self perpetuating circle of one upmanship. Always needing the latest and greatest! It's has become our area of expertise, and many people around the world are thankful for it.
What gripes me the most is that some of the counries who are buying our weapons are doing so with the money we give them for humanitarian aid. That is just not right and I would like to see that handled in a different way.

I understand where your coming from and you have a right to be proud of your job but when is enough...enough? Perhaps US, Russia and China are preparing for an extra-terrestrial attack? Seriously, I am not joking

Reagan once said that "how quickly our differences would disappear when faced with an external threat". I also saw a tv documentary once where some high level employee working at Area 51 said "we got technology that is at least 50 years ahead of what most people think". Something to think about!

[edit on 17-9-2009 by EarthCitizen07]