We have solved our jobs problem, so it's a good time to reduce the army to

[CK_John]

pre 1940 levels. NOT.

It's 1929 thinking all over again.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. The armed forces is just about the worst "jobs program" imaginable. nt.

[CK_John]

2. It's beats prison or a homeless shelter.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. neither of which are proposed as "job programs", although you might have a point with prisons.

Our war budget is obscene. Any effort to reduce it is something I support.

[sabrina 1]

10. Well, not to worry, those jobs are now going to private 'contractors/mercenaries'

who are more than willing to take the money they are getting. Seems we have more mercenaries in Afghanistan and Iraq now than regular troops. Not sure how this is going to cut the Pentagon budget as private mercs, as we discovered during the Bush years, are paid way more than regular troops. Otoh, we don't have to pay their medical bills when they return, if they do, home.

Someone I'm sure, has figured all this out. All that money going for care of the troops can now go straight to profits for the private 'contractors' I suppose. Capitalism is so wonderful, all about keeping the money flowing, in an upward direction.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. It's time for some real deep cuts rather than a mere sop to the left.

And, they can replace the jobs with jobs that actually useful and beneficial.

[msongs]

5. like rebuilding American infrastructure instead of hiring more "private" contractors nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Exactly. The military contributes nothing to society.

Even a dishwasher serves a useful purpose. There is an actual "service" being provided. A farmer produces something.

What is the primary purpose of a soldier? To kill people.

[giftedgirl77]

7. The Army needs to be reduced because they pretty much

gave up any & all standards to get enough ppl in to meet the demands of Iraq & Afghanistan. They allowed ppl in that were convicted of crimes ranging from vehicular homicide to not being able to read. Granted manyof them ended up being kicked out or convicted of some other type of crime eventually but common sense should come into play at some point that the drawdown numbers are going to decrease. There are many ppl that need to be put out because they haven't made any progress in several years & are just taking up space. This is what happens when conflicts end.

[oneshooter]

8. "were convicted of crimes ranging from vehicular homicide to not being able to read"

So not being able to read is a crime"?

[sabrina 1]

9. What's wrong with you, we are outsourcing our military jobs to private

'contractors'. The only problem is I have been trying to find out how much this is costing tax payers but the Pentagon 'doesn't know'! Or, maybe they do and are afraid to tell us??