In These Trying Economic Times
In these trying economic times our politicians tell us we need to chop budgets to get the deficit under control. They do this by chopping away at “Entitlement Programs”. You know those programs that affect the lives of the powerless, children, elderly, disabled, and anyone that falls below the poverty level.
These programs are under funded to begin with. The amount of savings don’t even chip away at the tip of the iceberg of deficit spending. Why don’t these politicians look into the high budget spending to save more money. Why can’t we wait until the economy is better to build a couple new jet fighters, warships, etc. Why do we hold sacred spending that only enriches those that do not need our help?
PRECISELY. The idea that Social Security and such are the big problem is laughable.
The problem is that it is easy to cut these programmes and the aweful truth is that they are manifestly inadaquate in the US by comparison to the rest of the western world. Redirecting defence spending means going up against huge vested interests. The Pentagone is a dinosaur and a rapacious one as well.
In many ways though they may actually derail the growing detent between New Zealand and the US something I find very amusing given the work that Clinton has put into it. Effectivly NZ is more or less an American ally and the Pentagone is not happy. Actually neither am I I prefered being non aligned. Be that as it may the Obama administration has got us back in the US tent but the conditions are rediculious and may well piss of our military to the point that they say it just isn’t worth the effort.
By getting us onside NZ would enable a miniscual saving on defence costs for the US and I am betting that is why the pentagone is not to happy about it. FFS we can’t even park our boats at military wharfs instead we are required by US law to birth at civilian wharfs. This will change because the Australians are going to want us to back them up and the Australians don’t take shit.
Obama needs to tame the military but I guess that can wait for a second tearm.