Reply #24: You're right, [View All]

[MadHound]

And that is exactly what I'm trying to point out. We need to shrink our military spending, period.

One point though, once a weapons system, from bullet to bomb, is paid for, we're not through actually paying for it. Rule of thumb on military expenditures is that over the lifetime of that weapons system, for every dollar paid to make and purchase it, another ten dollars will be expended on maintaining it, guarding it, keeping it in battle ready condition. Thus, a fifty cent bullet will wind up costing up five bucks by the time it is fired. A fifteen million dollar Cruise missile will wind up costing us one hundred and fifty million by the time it land in Tripoli.

But yes, we absolutely must shrink our military.