Thoughts on the Budget Deal and Military Spending

[Savannahmann]

Some think it is a piece of shit. Some think that it could be worse, and overall is better than we had. I wonder why nobody is asking this question.

War's are expensive, and we have long blasted Bush for fighting them without paying for them, among other things. But lets stay with that. The Defense Budget skyrocketed to pay for the wars we were fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're out of Iraq. We're leaving Afghanistan and will be fully out this next year, so why does the Defense Budget need to increase at all?

We should be saving money, we should be able to cut the Defense Budget, because we're no longer supporting deployed troops and buying half million dollar MRAP vehicles. In fact, we're giving the ones we have away because we don't need them, we're out of Iraq, and nearly out of Afghanistan. We didn't see a decrease in the budget when we got out of Iraq. Why?

The Defense Budget shouldn't be increasing, it should be decreasing, the wars are over. We should be spending less, the wars are over. We should be realizing the benefit of the wars are over by spending less money on our military right?

So why is the budget increasing by 2%?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. "Defense" is America's most sacred of Sacred Cows.

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.  H.L. Mencken

[seveneyes]

2. Hopefully it's a pay increase for the enlisted men and women

That would be a good thing for them, and their families.

[Savannahmann]

3. Any bets on that?

It's probably more money to the MIIC to get even more drones/spying equipment cranked up.

[seveneyes]

4. No bets on that

It could more likely be for abandoning more million dollar aircraft in some desert.