Top senator introduces bill to protect the defence budget from cuts

Budget cuts? Not for the military industrial complex!

Debt Accord Already at Risk as U.S. Lawmakers Target Supercommittee’s Cuts

In an appearance yesterday on the “Fox News Sunday” program, Senator Lindsey Graham said he will introduce legislation to protect the Defense Department from automatic cuts that would take effect if the panel of 12 members deadlocks.

“I hope the supercommittee works,” said Graham of South Carolina. “But if it fails, let’s don’t destroy the Defense Department.” Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the second-ranking Senate Republican and a member of the supercommittee, also has said he would seek a waiver to protect the Pentagon from additional cuts.

Graham’s comments mark the start of what’s likely to be a bipartisan effort to dismantle the automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs scheduled to take effect in 2013 if Congress doesn’t enact a deficit-cutting plan, said Steve Bell, a senior director at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington and a former longtime Senate Budget Committee aide.

The military industrial complex puppets sure are working hard to protect their sugar daddy.

And the guy wants his wars!
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Neo-cons, the greatest threat to America.

Well to tell you the truth by my own experiences because my husband works for one of the companies profiting from wars I have to say that no only the defenses contractors will be affected by the billions of dollars on defense cuts but also the government civil workers, right now in my neck of the woods, the town was voted the poorest town in the state, people are scare, workers both contractors and civil servers are afraid of losing their jobs including my husband if the cuts goes, by December it could be many people including my husband joining the lines of unemployments, and in a town that is high in poverty and unemployment is not where to turn around for an alternative job.

So hell thanks Obama for my husband and I retirement in poverty and with a SS probably in default and more cuts on Medicare.

What a future for the baby boomers of America. lets stand on the food lines and even those are facing lack of support by the increasing poverty in many towns in the nation.

reply to post by marg6043


The problem are not budget cuts. The problem, which was created LONG AGO... was that small towns like yours, Marg, have been created and are based on one or two industries... and when one or all of them fail, the whole town is screwed.

That's a town/economic management failure that happened over the last few decades.

A bigger example would be Detroit...

Originally posted by Vitchilo
reply to post by marg6043

 

The problem are not budget cuts. The problem, which was created LONG AGO... was that small towns like yours, Marg, have been created and are based on one or two industries... and when one or all of them fail, the whole town is screwed.

That's a town/economic management failure that happened over the last few decades.

A bigger example would be Detroit...

edit on 27-9-2011 by Vitchilo because: (no reason given)

Well said, and unfortunately in this case, the need is quite...well, disproportionate. Detroit makes (made?) cars that people could actually put to good use. Defense contractors and weapons makers haven't realistically been needed by the US for quite some time, especially taking into account the size of our military budget compared to those around the world - ours about equal to the rest all put together.

We feel your pain, Marg, but it's time to seek out self-sufficiency if possible, otherwise some new industry or employment that will weather the economic storm to come. The military and related budgets NEED to be cut as they're part of the cancer killing this nation and are not presently doing much (if any) net *good* around the world, regardless of how it's sold to us.

Just as Ike warned us decades ago, the people involved in those industries latched on to the power structures of this nation and drove more or less everything to the brink - it's time to cut them off and get leeches like Graham and the rest who take god knows how much lobbyist and industry money from these merchants off the teat and back to common sense.

reply to post by Vitchilo


You know I been sarcastic with my post, Vitchilo, but what killed our town was the 6 major industrial base companies that have closed their doors and moved oversea in the last 10 years, it actually killed the middle class in the town. What was left was Proctor and Gamble and the military base that was turned into a depot.

If the base loses their contractors it will be closed.

Now can you imagine what will happen if that happens.

I know many people still trying for find work after of the manufactures left, we used to have two pharma, two candy manufactures, one tire company and uniform makers.

Is no pretty in my neck of the woods this days, but guess what we got two walmarts and still in poverty.

If Lindsey Graham and John Kyl are for something, chances are it's all #ed up.

I live in one of this towns my friend, I see everyday what is happening to the populations, people are getting used to welfare and depend on it for their entire lives this days.Homes lies abandon and lots empty, small businesses can not compete with walmart, two in the same area.

What can you do when is only walmart as an employer, now, you still a working poor and on welfare.

America industrial base is death and gone, the sad part is that is no coming back, the US that our parents found their American dream in is not more, is not coming back.

America is dying my friends and the defense and the government are sadly the biggest employer in the nation right now, cut budgets, means job lost and more unemployment and poverty.

Sad but truth.

They are all for cutting everything but the military. These guys have no shame, no shame at all. I swear some of these poloticians get bonified hard-on's at the thought of war and bloodshed, makes me sick.

Originally posted by marg6043
Well to tell you the truth by my own experiences because my husband works for one of the companies profiting from wars I have to say that no only the defenses contractors will be affected by the billions of dollars on defense cuts but also the government civil workers, right now in my neck of the woods, the town was voted the poorest town in the state, people are scare, workers both contractors and civil servers are afraid of losing their jobs including my husband if the cuts goes, by December it could be many people including my husband joining the lines of unemployments, and in a town that is high in poverty and unemployment is not where to turn around for an alternative job.

So hell thanks Obama for my husband and I retirement in poverty and with a SS probably in default and more cuts on Medicare.

What a future for the baby boomers of America.

lets stand on the food lines and even those are facing lack of support by the increasing poverty in many towns in the nation.

baby boomer, think about the teens and 20+ year olds. at least the baby boomers were able to start saving when they started working at 18. If your young your lucky to find work and it only makes it harder to save for retiement when your miss those years of emplyment. youth unemplyment at like 55% or something crazy! and there not getting anything from SS

reply to post by camaro68ss


Exactly those that were able to live the American dream still remember but the new generation are living in a nation that been a working poor and poverty is all they will see.

Sometimes I think is an agenda by the fat rats running this nation, to make a generation that will work for food rather than for a better standard of living.

Like Walmart, work in their stores, buy in their stores and become a slave of their stores.

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by Vitchilo

 

You know I been sarcastic with my post, Vitchilo, but what killed our town was the 6 major industrial base companies that have closed their doors and moved oversea in the last 10 years, it actually killed the middle class in the town. What was left was Proctor and Gamble and the military base that was turned into a depot.

If the base loses their contractors it will be closed.

Now can you imagine what will happen if that happens.

I know many people still trying for find work after of the manufactures left, we used to have two pharma, two candy manufactures, one tire company and uniform makers.

Is no pretty in my neck of the woods this days, but guess what we got two walmarts and still in poverty.

canada brags about how many jobs they received due to the USA pricing sugar way above world market rates.
to support florida politics, free trade is a bad joke, since it's not really applied , causing the loss of the chocolate and other sugar related industries.

military spending is so out of control, that imo, it will banckrupt the nation.
so cut now or later, either way it's inevitable.

reply to post by citizen6511


The problem is that it is the US government the biggest employer in the nation, cut the defense budget and you will have higher unemployment numbers because the jobs within the goveremnt are after mostly middle class jobs with benefits, so they will end up in getting unemployment benefits, but most people will lose their benefits, that means healthcare.

Unless like my husband you were a former Marine and retire with governemnt subsided healthcare, if you lose that because none payment of insurance then is nothing left but veterans hospitals.

Also what is left of the mighty US but its mighty military.

reply to post by Vitchilo


The real problem is actually easy borrowing aka artificial wealth creation for the last 7 decades. Those industries and jobs shouldn't have existed in the first place.

reply to post by eldard


Sooner or later the United States governmets "credit card" will run out of credit.

I mean, the defence department "sucks up" billions of dollars that the ordinary citizen cant afford.

That's why they cant "bring em home".

reply to post by downunderET


Yes it does suck up a lot of money, but remember that our corporate government has not problem allowing the Federal research to in debt our generations when they give away trillions on bailout money abroad since 2008 is been more than 1 trillion dollars been funneled to the IMF to bailout the EU banks.

How about billions on federal aid to other countries in other to keep them happy, millions going to Pakistan and India so they can train workers that later are brought to the US with H1B visas to take jobs from educated American workers.

The irony, here we are complaining about taking away jobs but where is the outrage about wasting Americans tax payer abroad.

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by citizen6511

 

The problem is that it is the US government the biggest employer in the nation, cut the defense budget and you will have higher unemployment numbers because the jobs within the government are after mostly middle class jobs with benefits, so they will end up in getting unemployment benefits, but most people will lose their benefits, that means health care.

Unless like my husband you were a former Marine and retire with government subsided health care, if you lose that because none payment of insurance then is nothing left but veterans hospitals.

Also what is left of the mighty US but its mighty military.

to me the answer would be moderation, if we address our problems as a society.

we could reduce our overseas expenditures, build roads, bridges, etc in the USA.
bring down the price of pharmaceuticals, would reduce the cost of health care.
if you believe in free trade allow us to buy pharmaceuticals at world market price, a fraction of USA cost.
rid us of sugar tariff and allow the chocolate and candy industry back in the USA.

bring tort reform, make it realistic, not winning the lottery.
get rid of 8$ for a pack of cigarettes, and other ridiculous taxes.

cap credit cards at 10%, so people will buy necessities.

eliminate billions in corporate tax giveaways, agriculture, oil,etc.

this way everyone would lose a little, but our economy could come back to life.