America's Staggering Defense Budget, in Charts!!!

While I am a strong supporter of the military and can accept that due to the role our government has put us in over the last 50 years we must maintain a strong and technologically advanced military I have to agree with COG that there is a ton of money being wasted, stolen, and funneled back to the pockets of the government. An individual audit and some jail time would do wonders and I would suggest that doing so we would still maintain the strongest most advanced military in the world and a much reduced cost to the people. COG you are right on with your remarks here. Originally Posted by dirty dog

3 Rear Admirals Forced Out Amid Massive Navy Bribery Scandal

The case stems from an ongoing federal probe into bribery and fraud involving Navy contracts for port services in southeast Asia.
Leonard Glenn Francis, a Malaysian contractor known as "Fat Leonard" because of his size, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego to buying off U.S. military officials and awaits sentencing.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...y-scandal.html

Who set the troop withdrawal in motion you ignorant cunt? Your man Bushy. Originally Posted by WombRaider

Who didn't listen to the advice of the expert, senior advisers, you "#Grubered", freelance faggot, Odumbo Minion from Arkansas? Your boy Odumbo!!! Odumbo said every thing was peachy keen back in 2011 when he pulled ALL of the troops out despite warnings from senior, expert advisers, you "#Grubered", freelance faggot, Odumbo Minion from Arkansas; so, your boy Odumbo owns any mess that might have arisen afterwards.

[W]e’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people. Odumbo, Dec. 14, 2011.

You're a fucking idiot IBIDiot. Triumph the Insult Comic Dipshit!

What do you call your mother? I mean, how many words do you use to say Mommy?

When did she refuse to continue wiping your dirty little bum?

Or was that, Obama's mess too?

I submit that you lost control of your bowels around the time Mommy made you start cleaning yourself, Corpy.

Best estimate on when that happened was sometime in 2008. You've shat yourself regularly since then.

And Mommy won't clean it up!

How embarrassing that must be.

Dipshit. Originally Posted by Yssup Rider

3 officers? Port contracts? I'm talking about BILLIONS in waste. Projects that never come to fruition or that take so long they're outdated by the time they are able to scale up.

Well it is a constitutional requirement to defend the country. Welfare and entitlements cost us more but are NOT required by Constitution. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

So, not true and most intelligent people who have done their research will know that! Do some independent research. What facts do you base your theory on?

Actually, welfare safety nets have been cut and are dwindling quickly. Most people use these safety nets, including those that were laid off due to job losses, have paid for them. Unemployment only lasts for a certain amount of time. What happens after it runs out and these Americans are still unemployed, due to downsizing and jobs being sent overseas by multi-national corporations so they can increase their profits even at the cost of American workers? Do you really think they care about the rest of us? No, no, no. . .their main goal is to increase profits! They care nothing about the little guy.

The gap between "the haves and the Have-nots" is growing for a reason, and yet, the poor are still being classified as lazy just because there are no jobs for them. I tried to work 2 part-time jobs, with a few hours of sleep each night and still could not make ends meet. So, don't call us lazy and how dare you think you are better than the rest of us. The poor want jobs, they do not want to use welfare (welfare is very humiliating) and just not having a good paying job destroys an individual's self worth. Hence, anxiety and depression sets in. No wonder we have more social security claims for mental health and no wonder they are being approved by social security. And, for your information, the average benefits for disability are just about enough to put a roof over one's head, about $1,200 per month. Do your homework!

I started to read your crap and then I noticed that you were mixing your public and private money. So you disqualified yourself. Still don't understand the "general welfare" phrase do you. Why do you think the left wing called it welfare in the first place and not charity. That wanted to use that clause to further their lying words. Like I said, James Madison who wrote most of the Constitution as a congressman was asked to vote for funds to help homeless soldiers from the Revolutionary War. He said it was a noble endeavor but there was nothing in the Constitution to allow them to do it. It was voted down.

You also don't understand profits. How does someone turn a profit or get "rich"? They come up with an idea or a product that people want. They save or borrow the money to start up. They lease, rent, or buy someplace to work. They get the equipment to produce their product. At this point they owe everyone and have not produced one thing yet. So they start to produce and what is their immediate goal? To turn a profit. Why? So they can pay on the loan, pay for the equipment, pay their insurance, pay for the raw materials, pay on the lease, pay any employees, pay their taxes, and if they have anything left over...pay themselves. If you don't have any profit then you go out of business. Profit is good. How to maximize their profit? They have to find out what people will pay for their product. It is called by some, the supply curve. The higher the cost, the less the the demand, the fewer things you sell, and the less the profit. The lower the cost, the more the demand, the more you sell but if you set the price too low, you don't make enough profit to stay in business.

So you find your best price. Maximize demand, sales, and profits. Should you lower your price to satisfy some personal need to be "good"? No! This week you're selling things. Next week you may not. You have to earn as much as possible to provide for the future and to cover any lean times. Guess what? You're a success. You sell a shit load and gather more money than you planned. So what do you do? A do gooder might give it away for nothing. That only lasts as long as you have your business and then no more. A real do gooder expands their business, creates jobs, and increases profits. Each new worker can support a family and buy goods. This continues in cycles. Profit drives success and success drives profit.

Now you're "rich" (which is an ambiguous term), you own more than one factory and employ thousands of workers. One thing is certain, next year may be your last so you can't slack up. You have to come up with new products, pay for research, buy more equipment, and hire more employees. Those employees use their paychecks to hire carpenters, plumbers, raise families, go to doctors, and give to charity. You're enough ahead now to real give some money to animal rescue services, endow a college, build a church, or start a soup kitchen if you want. All of these jobs, payments, charitible donations, and don't forget taxes come from PROFIT.

You would get rid of profit and with it you would get rid of jobs, charity, and taxes.

Well it is a constitutional requirement to defend the country. Welfare and entitlements cost us more but are NOT required by Constitution. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

So, not true and most intelligent people who have done their research will know that! Do some independent research. What facts do you base your theory on?

...

Do your homework! Originally Posted by SeekingTruth

What's "not true"

1) it is a constitutional requirement to defend the country
2) Welfare and entitlements cost us more
3) Welfare and entitlements are NOT required by Constitution

None of what you said afterwards addresses any of these three statements and these are the only three statements that the OP made in the post.

Take you own advice (in bold above)

To those who have no trouble with the U.S military spending- give me one reason why spending should be more than the next 8 countries combined? What kind of message are we sending to the other nations??? And you guys wonder why Iran and others are trying to get nukes????

To those who have no trouble with the U.S military spending- give me one reason why spending should be more than the next 8 countries combined? What kind of message are we sending to the other nations??? And you guys wonder why Iran and others are trying to get nukes???? Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

It shouldn't be. It's fucking ridiculous. All it does is line the pockets of politicians and big business. It's greed. Nothing more.

It shouldn't be. It's fucking ridiculous. All it does is line the pockets of politicians and big business. It's greed. Nothing more. Originally Posted by WombRaider

+10000000- The GOP are always talking about reduce spending, but they never want to touch the Defense Budget. It's like a Wealthy man who wants to save money, but instead of him stop purchasing Yachts, Private jets and expensive cars- he wants to to cut back on his grocery shopping, cell phone, and cable bills.

Some people here think that this is about military vs welfare/entitlement spending or Rep vs Dem.

Newsflash, you are wrong. It is only about the politicians (of both parties) vs the working people.

Government spending is way too much on all counts and both military as well as welfare/entitlement need to be cut drastically. Both also have a very high level of, shell we call it, inefficiencies. The only difference between the two is that the consitition requires defense spending (not at the level in which we are) and does not require (doesn't forbid either) spending on welfare or entitlement programs.

Is it a constitutional requirement that we rank number one in defense spending and spend more than the next 9 COMBINED?

http://pgpf.org/Chart-Archive/0053_defense-comparison

Unlike you, I'll provide references.

So someone dares to ask about defense spending, suggesting maybe it's a bit out of whack. And this is your idea of a response? As if we have a choice where our money goes.

And it seems that welfare IS in there, you just missed it, I guess.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare... Originally Posted by WombRaider

When we look at military spending honestly, who is gaining? Answer; the Indusrial War Complex, namely, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfield. Who pays? The middle class. If you, as a working middle class citizen want to crunch numbers, let me know. I am not afraid to tell the truth.