How not to commit suicide.

[ThomWV]

The Defense budget in 2000 was $291 Billion dollars. By 2007 it had risen to $439 Billion. The 2007 number does not including the cost of the war against Afghanastan or the occupation of Iraq.

Nothing we do politically will make any difference in reviving America until we reduce our military spending by a huge amount of money - I would suggest that a reduction of 75% would be inadequate. If we do not reduce our insane level of spending on the military it will be the death of this nation.

[Virginia Dare]

1. You are so right...

triillions squandered on "security" and "defense". Our future is rapidly disappearing in front of our eyes. Shrubya says the economy has nothing to do with the war...we are in deep deep shit.

[wtmusic]

2. The US is officially now a military-spending junkie

Too many local economies rely on it, and the bullets have to get used somewhere.

[fenriswolf]

3. we spend more on defense the the next 14 countries combined

its rediculas. and no one talks about it.

[ThomWV]

5. Only partially true - we actually spend more than the next 168 Nations combined.

[flamin lib]

10. Actually, more than the rest of the world combined. nt

[Dhalgren]

4. K&R! Absolutely correct! It will never happen, but it is absolutely

imperative...

[NightWatcher]

6. we need to end this war and use the budget for one year to pay for the soldiers we have broken

then we need to rebuild the infrastructure of the military. Then we can turn down the money valve that has been gushing out of control.

If we shold NEED the military to respond to a disaster or something else, we will see AGAIN how unprepared we are.

[Mark Twain Girl]

7. Per Sicko: the people are afraid of the American government, that's all I can come up with

I don't know what else would explain how we live on the edge while the defense industry masters live large.

Nothing politically will do a dime's worth of good until we come to terms with the structural problems like the defense budget. It's an out of control obscenity, while we struggle, told we can't afford health care, education, and public infrastructure.

[tularetom]

8. Military spending destroyed the Soviet Union

And it wasn't because St Ronnie made them so scared he would attack them that they had to spend the money.

You'd think we might learn from their experience. Why are we so arrogant that we think it would be any different for us?

[BreweryYardRat]

9. And very little of that money actually goes to help, maintain, and improve the military.

Most of it goes straight into contractors' pockets.

[flamin lib]

11. The really sad part is that $100 billion a year is lost and un-accounted for. nt

[Danascot]

12. Umm, does anybody remember what happened to the USSR? nt

[Bright Eyes]

13. How will you feel when we reduce America's overinflated runaway military budget

Fails to stop a Godzilla attack!? :)

[mvccd1000]

14. Ummm.....

While our defense spending IS outrageous, it is also below the 45-year average, when looked at as a percentage of the GDP. I think ThomWV's proposed 75% cut would put us in a bad place.

http://www.truthandpolitics.org/military-relative-size.php