Scamming for America's Security
By David Glenn Cox
Senator Elizabeth Dole wrote an editorial that was published by the welcoming arms of The Washington Times. Senator Dole was lamenting the decline in the size of the Navy and the aging aircraft fleet of the other military services. She only mentions that the Cold War is over in passing and complains that Ronny Raygun's (gunboat diplomacy) Navy of 568 ships is down to a paltry 280 ships.
She warns that we are only building one Virginia-class attack submarine per year while the Chinese are turning out four or five (advanced) subs. Those advanced subs, are they attack submarines? She doesn’t say. Are the Chinese at parity with us now? She doesn’t say. But I’m glad she mentioned China, because China is very important. The whole issue of China exposes the Republican duplicity bare. On the one hand we must have free trade and with free trade we will have peace and understanding.
The Chinese would not, nor could not build those advanced submarines if it wasn’t for the free trade profits bulging in their treasuries and accompanying technology transfers. The Chinese should repay US industry by perhaps naming those advance submarines in their honor. I christen thee the SS Wal-Mart; I christen thee the SS General Motors, the SS Mattel. On the one hand, when it serves the Republican corporate interests the Chinese are our friends; on the other hand we must rebuild our military defenses to Cold War levels because of those scary Chinese.
Mrs. Dole parrots the Neo-Con line that our level of defense is only at 3.3 % of GDP, the lowest since WWII. “Lies, damn lies and statistics,” is what Mark Twain called that argument. Is it Mrs. Dole’s age or her mind set? The WWII level for military funding was the highest in American history, we were fighting a hot war on five continents and building the world's first nuclear weapons while maintaining a million men under arms. So, her saying the funding is the lowest since WWII is like telling a NOLA resident it’s the worst storm since Katrina.
She tells horror stories of the Air Force flying F-15 fighters built in the 1970’s and of B52’s still being flown that were built in the 1960’s. She forgets that the B1B and B2 bombers ordered and built under Republican administrations were the most expensive aircraft ever built and that the reason that the B52 is still in service is because these overpriced hangar queens can’t do the job that the B52 can. She also forgets that the Air Force has in its inventory over 2,200 F16 fighters, the last of which were delivered in 2005.
Senator Dole makes a multi-pronged argument that this equipment is needed, not just to maintain the ability to interject ourselves anywhere in the world, but for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. “Clearly, this is unacceptable — especially to the brave men and women who defend our country. The least we can do is ensure they have the best equipment when in harm's way and the best health care, housing and benefits upon their return.” Of course Mrs. Dole marched in lock step with her Republican brethren, voting down the appropriations for helmet liners and for making military family insurance more inclusive as being too expensive.
Only when they want more money do they start to worry about our service people. The administration recently announced the cancellation of the F35 fighter program as too expensive, I wonder why? Where did all the money they had already budgeted go? But Mrs. Dole likes playing the GDP game; she has introduced a bill to increase military spending to no less than 4% of GDP. But that’s not tax revenue, that’s Gross Domestic Product; it’s like a clerk at Wal-Mart saying, sure I can afford a new Cadillac, Wal-Mart is worth Billions!
Mrs. Dole makes no comments about how that 4% of GDP is to be collected. I wonder why? Who do you think she wants to pay it? She supported the Bush tax cuts and insists that they should be made permanent, so asking the wealthiest Americans is out of the question. That’s the sad part of this conundrum that the Republicans face, they maintain that higher taxes inhibit growth and that higher wages cause inflation. But eight years of Bush tax cuts and zero wage growth have brought us negative growth, failing banks, and inflation. But no Republican argument is complete without the line, as she reminds us that, “September 11 changed everything.”
The Chinese, on the other hand, have a treasury full of money destined to build advanced submarines, collected from the taxes of their workers who are enjoying rising wages. My father used to love to say to anyone who would listen, “I wish I could double my taxes!” and then when the room would look at him in stunned silence he would continue, “Because I’d have to triple or quadruple my income to do it!” But to the Republicans and Mrs. Dole, the opposite is the answer, export wealth and then tax the poor to pay the bill to defend us from the enemies that they’ve empowered with their policies.
They know no shame, they own no mirrors, for the honorable would leave the legislative body quietly in the face of such failures. To admit their blunders and pass the baton to new ideas but instead they shout: More!
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080331/EDITORIAL/112063691/1013/editorial
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