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10% cut in military budget
- Thread starter JBM
- Start date
Redux
Well-Known Member
WTF, you don't like Natty Boh?
That IS the basis of the "secret ingredient" for steamed crabs you know. 
Natty Bo and Natty Lite are two very different animals.
Unions are not the enemy; they are a necessary evil.. They represent and protect the work force as a whole, or so is the intent. They can be flawed and corrupt at times but they serve a purpose. And that purpose, is to protect a workers job, income, family and QOL.. They didn't break the Auto industry.. The Auto industry (and gas prices :icon_wink) broke the industry. Without Unions, companies would pay 'peanuts..' So those places without Union job protection have seen many of their jobs go overseas. How many companies have Wal-Mart (very Anti-Union) put out of business to do the job for less, for example.. So here I ask you, would you fly for the Navy for less? Imagine they could change your pay rate, etc at their leasure to pay those Admiral Bonuses.... They can't because Congress sets the pay rates.. So aren't OUR military protected in many ways, in fact, the same ways a Union looks/negotiates with company for protection? (Congress, 3710, UCMJ..) Sometimes they work in our favor and sometimes NOT... But Unions are NOT the enemy..
Agreed. Here's a budget consideration. I was in the sim briefing spaces awaiting a sim brief a couple of weeks ago where I witnessed five, I say again five of our beloved 'guvment' workers in the stairwell painting the fvckin baseboards. Only two had a g*d damn brush! SERIOUSLY! WTF! I know, I know, everybody is saying in their head, "yup, suckin up that guvment cheeze" I say BULLSHIT!
Steam blown
I'm am not completely sure of the veracity, at least on the 10% figure, I did a search and only Fox News is reporting it now. There are cuts coming, even Secretary Gates has recently said so, but we will see the real figure come April when the administration submits it's proposed FY10 budget. And even then that is only a proposal, Congress has shown itself to be very adept at funding things that the administration wants cut, like the C-17. So don't get your panties in a wad yet.
Secretary Gates on Budget
As for some of your complaints, flat screen TV's and dudes painting stairwells (who might have been contractors and not govies) are only a drop in the bucket when it comes to the defense budget. Weapons procurement and development costs, medical expenses, salaries, etc are a helluva lot bigger piece of the budget than the stupid flat screens.
As for what might be cut, look for weapon systems that are way over budget and very late. For the Navy, LCS comes to mind, for the Marines the AH-1Z/UH-1Y and the EFV. And missile defense, I certainly hope it is cut. Things too 'big' to be cut, maybe the JSF. With the international partners and aging fighters, it might be.
P.S. If you all aren't smart enough to be able to critique our current administration's policies in a coherent and smart manner without violating Article 88 then I have no sympathy for you. It is actually pretty pathetic, since I did it or years with the previous administration without even coming close to crossing the line.
Secretary Gates on Budget
As for some of your complaints, flat screen TV's and dudes painting stairwells (who might have been contractors and not govies) are only a drop in the bucket when it comes to the defense budget. Weapons procurement and development costs, medical expenses, salaries, etc are a helluva lot bigger piece of the budget than the stupid flat screens.
As for what might be cut, look for weapon systems that are way over budget and very late. For the Navy, LCS comes to mind, for the Marines the AH-1Z/UH-1Y and the EFV. And missile defense, I certainly hope it is cut. Things too 'big' to be cut, maybe the JSF. With the international partners and aging fighters, it might be.
P.S. If you all aren't smart enough to be able to critique our current administration's policies in a coherent and smart manner without violating Article 88 then I have no sympathy for you. It is actually pretty pathetic, since I did it or years with the previous administration without even coming close to crossing the line.
No, I do not think so. Clear there is some fat, mis-spent $$$, fraud and such. However, this is some of the things the 10% DoD cut will buy you:
The $1.17 trillion stimulus bill was passed by House Democrats on Wednesday. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’’s Economy.com, says most of the infrastructure spending in the plan won’’t occur until 2010 or later.
Provisions of the bill with questionable “stimulative benefits”
$1 billion for Amtrak, which hasn’’t earned a profit in four decades.
$2 billion to subsidize child care.
$400 million for research into global warming.
$2.4 billion for projects to demonstrate how carbon greenhouse gas can be safely removed from the atmosphere.
$650 million for coupons to help consumers convert their TV sets from analog to digital, part of the digital TV conversion.
$600 million to buy a new fleet of cars for federal employees and government departments.
$75 million to fund programs to help people quit smoking.
$21 million to re-sod the National Mall, which suffered heavy use during the Inauguration.
$2.25 billion for national parks. This item has sparked calls for an investigation, because the chief lobbyist of the National Parks Association is the son of Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wisconsin. The $2,25 billion is about equal to the National Park Service’’s entire annual budget. The Washington Times reports it is a threefold increase over what was originally proposed for parks in the stimulus bill. Obey is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
$335 million for treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. $4.19 billion to stave off foreclosures via the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The bill allows nonprofits to compete with cities and states for $3.44 billion of the money, which means a substantial amount of it will be captured by ACORN, the controversial activist group currently under federal investigation for vote fraud. Another $750 million would be exclusively reserved for nonprofits such as ACORN –– meaning cities and states are barred from receiving that money.
$44 million to renovate the headquarters building of the Agriculture Department.
$32 billion for a ““smart electricity grid to minimize waste.
$87 billion of Medicaid funds, to aid states.
$53.4 billion for science facilities, high speed Internet, and miscellaneous energy and environmental programs.
$13 billion to repair and weatherize public housing, help the homeless, repair foreclosed homes.
$20 billion for quicker depreciation and write-offs for equipment.
$10.3 billion for tax credits to help families defray the cost of college tuition.
$20 billion over five years for an expanded food stamp program.
Do they just sit at Starbucks and come up with these bullshit stimulations over coffee? Yes We Did? No I Didn't!
Why not throw in a million to the Airwarrior's ready room fund? Jesus that's a lot of beer
Infrastructure...if they're going to "stimulate the economy" (if that's even possible), there ought to be a green light on projects that expand or repair our aging infrastructure. New roads, water mains, electricity grids... all of these involve trades that have been hit hardest (and longest) by the recession, and would put a sizable number of good paying jobs back into the economy.
Limiting environmental impact studies that delay delay delay necessary infrastructure improvements ought to go hand in hand with any stimulus bill of this kind. The money going to the National Parks may or may not be in line with this, but they are a worthwhile cause and are always hurting for upgrades to their roads/facilities etc.
A good portion of this is useless pork, though, and yet again our reps voted with whatever would benefit them the most, rather than what would benefit the US the most. Awesome. I can't wait to still be living in America in 2029.
Limiting environmental impact studies that delay delay delay necessary infrastructure improvements ought to go hand in hand with any stimulus bill of this kind. The money going to the National Parks may or may not be in line with this, but they are a worthwhile cause and are always hurting for upgrades to their roads/facilities etc.
A good portion of this is useless pork, though, and yet again our reps voted with whatever would benefit them the most, rather than what would benefit the US the most. Awesome. I can't wait to still be living in America in 2029.
According to the Wall Street Journal $365 billion is supposed to go to 'brick and mortar' projects in addition to $275 billion in tax relief.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123307183916519783.html
Scrapping things like the LCS might be a good idea. That program has failed by most fair assessments. It was supposed to be a cheap, multi-mission ship to conduct combat operations in the littorals. Instead, it's an expensive, multi-mission ship that cannot conduct operations in a threat environment. It's time to go back to the drawing board when it comes to providing for the low-end capabilities of the Navy.
In general though, I would at least give the LCS a pass over, say, the digital TV transition and so forth. It's such a shame that ONE single LCS could fund that entire program...
In general though, I would at least give the LCS a pass over, say, the digital TV transition and so forth. It's such a shame that ONE single LCS could fund that entire program...
Comparing what we do and our pay to some of the outrageous pay and benefits that some autoworkers receive for driving forklifts is borderline offensive. And yes, I would take a pay cut and continue to do what I do. Last time I checked, most people didn't fly for the fat pay...
torpedo0126
Member
i completely agree with scoolbubba. an argument that ive heard that has a lot of merit (but not law by any means) is that investing in bombs/weapons in the long run results in a negative return. a bomb often just sits there and won't be used. investing in education (human capital) and infrastructure sets up success for the future.
however, the department of defense sucks such a tremendous amount of money that i think the intent is to take a shot at the national debt. im not sure of the exact figure, but this country's national debt is somewhere around 11 trillion dollars. foreigners own 30%+ of our country.
again I am no expert, but if we could run a surplus of 100 to 150 billion dollars a year we could put a serious dent into that at the end of eight years (assuming the incumbent remains in power). I personally think the debt is one of the bigger threats facing us. if our curreny remains so diluted......a better way of thinking about it is that if our currency is no longer in demand because our government simply prints it, it will no longer have value.
am i completely insane, or do i have somewhat of an argument?
however, the department of defense sucks such a tremendous amount of money that i think the intent is to take a shot at the national debt. im not sure of the exact figure, but this country's national debt is somewhere around 11 trillion dollars. foreigners own 30%+ of our country.
again I am no expert, but if we could run a surplus of 100 to 150 billion dollars a year we could put a serious dent into that at the end of eight years (assuming the incumbent remains in power). I personally think the debt is one of the bigger threats facing us. if our curreny remains so diluted......a better way of thinking about it is that if our currency is no longer in demand because our government simply prints it, it will no longer have value.
am i completely insane, or do i have somewhat of an argument?