RRD:Our Military is in a profoundly weakened state already from the Iraq war.Equipment has been worn out.Lives have been lost.Recruitment has become more difficult.
If anything,our military must be rebuilt,not cut.
Nor can our budget dilemma be solved by cutting waste from the defense budget.There is too much social welfare spending to even make dent in the deficit.We could eliminate the military altogether;that would put off our economic collapse for a short while.Assuming,of course that the "peace dividend" was not immediately spent for new "goodies".
Since it would be,nothing would be gained.
And all this,of course,ignores the very real nature of the threats and potential threats that we face.Tehran continues to seek nukes.China continues to arm(and to wage cyberwarfare against us).The "Arab Spring" has largely been a boon for Islamists. And many Libertarians continue to act as if the world is filled with peaceful souls,who will leave us alone,if only we will leave them alone. It isn't. The reasoning of Tea Party Patriots goes something like this:if we accept defense cuts(and there is real,actual,waste in the defense department)then we will be "less hypocritical" in pushing for cuts to social welfare spending. There are two problems with this view: 1.Some Government services are legitimate functions of the state(such as defense).Others(social welfare)aren't.Therefore it is not hypocritical to push for cuts to welfare state programs exclusively.It is only hypocritical if you accept the premise that social welfare is a legitimate function of the Government.I don't.The Republicans(and possibly many Tea Partiers)do.
2.If "everything is on the table,including defense",than defense is the only thing that will be on the table.The Democrats want MORE social welfare spending and MORE taxes.They cannot be reasoned with or appeased because they are irrational.Offering them defense cuts is like showing a shark your bloody wound in the hopes that the shark will take pity on you.The Democrats have no reason to compromise.They believe that they have the moral high ground."We are our brother's keeper".So long as their moral code goes unchallenged,so long as Republicans are fighting the "practical","it's moral but we just can't afford this" battle,they will lose.
Obama's goal from the beginning has been to reverse the Reagan revolution.That is:increase spending to increase government dependency,then use the massive deficits as a justification for higher taxes and defense cuts.With the help of the Republicans,(and now some members of the Tea Party,and the help of some libertarians,)he is succeeding.
There should be no defense cuts unless we can be certain that they will not jeopardize our citizens,and even then,only after massive cuts in social welfare spending.This means in practice that nothing can be done so long as Obama is in power.
Tea Party activists: Bring on defense cuts - TheHill.com http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/176393-tea-party...
If anything,our military must be rebuilt,not cut.
Nor can our budget dilemma be solved by cutting waste from the defense budget.There is too much social welfare spending to even make dent in the deficit.We could eliminate the military altogether;that would put off our economic collapse for a short while.Assuming,of course that the "peace dividend" was not immediately spent for new "goodies".
Since it would be,nothing would be gained.
And all this,of course,ignores the very real nature of the threats and potential threats that we face.Tehran continues to seek nukes.China continues to arm(and to wage cyberwarfare against us).The "Arab Spring" has largely been a boon for Islamists. And many Libertarians continue to act as if the world is filled with peaceful souls,who will leave us alone,if only we will leave them alone. It isn't. The reasoning of Tea Party Patriots goes something like this:if we accept defense cuts(and there is real,actual,waste in the defense department)then we will be "less hypocritical" in pushing for cuts to social welfare spending. There are two problems with this view: 1.Some Government services are legitimate functions of the state(such as defense).Others(social welfare)aren't.Therefore it is not hypocritical to push for cuts to welfare state programs exclusively.It is only hypocritical if you accept the premise that social welfare is a legitimate function of the Government.I don't.The Republicans(and possibly many Tea Partiers)do.
2.If "everything is on the table,including defense",than defense is the only thing that will be on the table.The Democrats want MORE social welfare spending and MORE taxes.They cannot be reasoned with or appeased because they are irrational.Offering them defense cuts is like showing a shark your bloody wound in the hopes that the shark will take pity on you.The Democrats have no reason to compromise.They believe that they have the moral high ground."We are our brother's keeper".So long as their moral code goes unchallenged,so long as Republicans are fighting the "practical","it's moral but we just can't afford this" battle,they will lose.
Obama's goal from the beginning has been to reverse the Reagan revolution.That is:increase spending to increase government dependency,then use the massive deficits as a justification for higher taxes and defense cuts.With the help of the Republicans,(and now some members of the Tea Party,and the help of some libertarians,)he is succeeding.
There should be no defense cuts unless we can be certain that they will not jeopardize our citizens,and even then,only after massive cuts in social welfare spending.This means in practice that nothing can be done so long as Obama is in power.
Tea Party activists: Bring on defense cuts - TheHill.com http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/176393-tea-party...
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