Wednesday, June 1, 2011
How Can We Best Support Our Troops?
by Tom Kando
The news (E.g. the Sacramento Bee and the Washington Post, May 31, 2011) told us again today what most moderately well-informed people already know: The country is going broke because of its insanely high military expenditures: The war in Afghanistan alone requires $113 billion per year, the one in Iraq another $85 billion, for a total of $200 billion on the two wars combined.
The base budget for federal military spending in 2012 is $708 billion. However, many parts of the Iraq and Afghan wars are funded through supplementary appropriations outside the Federal Budget, so they are not included in the military budget figures.
See: Military budget of the United States
Also, there are many additional defense-related expenditures, such as FBI-Counter terrorism, Veterans Affairs, Interest incurred on debt in past wars, etc. Estimates of total military and military-related spending range from $1.030 trillion to $1.415 trillion.
The total amount the federal government plans to spend in 2012 is $3.82 trillion. Thus, military spending makes up 37% of federal spending.
Of course, the feds spend much more than they collect, as the Republicans incessantly remind us: Uncle Sam will only collect $2.17 trillion in taxes, running a deficit of $1.65 trillion. (See: 2011 United States federal budget
If you compare the military budget with federal receipts, it makes up 65% of those! In other words, 2 out of every 3 tax dollars you hand over to Uncle Sam goes to defense. I hope this makes you feel safe.
Most reasonably informed people know that America’s military spending exceeds that of all other countries of the world combined. No need to rehash this.
A more interesting factoid is this: Instead of killing and dying in Afghanistan, we could hand over the $113 billion to the Afghans. Each of them would thus receive $4000 every year. This would raise their per capita income to that of countries such as Jordan, Samoa and Paraguay. We seem to be so keen on this damn “nation-building.” Why not give every Afghan man, woman and baby a $4000 check every Christmas (or every Eid ul Fitr). Maybe that’ll enable them to make a go of it. And if not, we’ll spend no more money than we do now, and at least there’ll be less bloodshed, no?
Memorial Day is a good opportunity to ask ourselves: How can we best support our troops? The answer: Bring them home. leave comment here
7 comments:
Tom, You are right to be concerned about the spending of the Federal government, and military expenditures typify how unreal our government is acting--like there is an endless supply of money that grows on trees.
However, I sense a bias against military expenditures as you fail to raise questions of non-military spending.
I don't know how you get a figure for military spending at 65% of "federal receipts," when federal income is $1,915 trillion and defense spending $606 billion. Also, you need to look at the entire budget with Social Security at $637 billion, Medicare and Medicaid $662 billion, interest of debt, $210 billion, Unemployment $148 billion, and other activities $1,024 trillion.
The whole package is interrelated, and waste, fraud, egos, empire building, and misuse of the government for private and corporate purposes is rampant in every program, with the least abuse probably occurring in Social Security--although plenty of fake claims are going out there as well.
So if you drop the entire military budget of $606 billion from our SHORTFALL of $1.65 trillion, you still have a shortfall of of over $1 trillion. You have done little to really solve the problem.
However, I would have to agree that the best way to support our troops would be to have a solvent government that could pay them, and certainly our foreign adventurism is unnecessary.
I'm in total agreement with bringing home the troops. Yes, military spending seems insane until one looks at real reasons for
maintaining U.S. presence and (an illusion of) control in the middle east.
To eject ouselves from the current economic darkness will require a massively radical change of world view. What might
provoke such a monumental shift?
Susan and Gordon:
Thank you for your comments.
Gordon, as far as the numbers are concerned: I point out in my post that when you include off-budget items and other military-related expenses which are not part of the DOD budget, estimates range between $1 trillion and $1.4 trillion. Even if we take the mid-point of this estimate, that's a staggering two thirds of total Federal RECEIPTS (not Federal spending).
Cordially
Thanks Tom, I assume the other related military spending was in the 1.024 trillion not described. At any rate, I think we are experiencing what Max Weber called "a polar night of icy darkness" as a result of our attempt to create bureaucracies to solve all of our problems, but not knowing how to properly control or maintain them once they get set up. The same type of problem brought down the Soviet system.
Hi Tom: You must be healing and getting more active so I expect to see you at band next Fall.
About defence spending. We do spend a great deal in money and lives and we would be more comfortable if this was not necessary. As I see it there are reasons for our present situation.
1. The primary function of any government is to defend the country from any source. Not give people money to buy tacos.
2. It would cost much less to do this if the rest of the world would spend enough money to protect its populations. Unfortunately Europe's nations, Korea, Japan, and many other countries cannot defend themselves. It is easy to think that these areas are under no threat. That is a fallacy. Germany, France, the baltic nations and more cannot defend themselves again a strong wind. I read an analysis of the French forces which stated "as military they include more barbers and musicians than any armed forces willing to die for their country". You can see how ineffective they are against a region like Lybia.
I am saddened that this is true. When the rest of the world steps up to protect themselves we can get back into our secure borders and take care of our internal problems.
Thanks for your comment, anonymous. I agree that it should not be up the US all by itself, to police the world. It's costing us too much. The world police should be an international force. In a distant, perhaps utopian future,it will be.
This information is very much interesting. It creates the patriotism in our hearts towards our country.
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