No $$$ for schools, NPR, heating assistance...but we can afford 110 cruise missles for Libya.

[Atman]

This country has some pretty effed up priorities.


(Edited to shorten the sub line)

[leftstreet]

1. I say we draft schoolkids and seniors

They'd get healthcare AND meals

:bounce:

[JDPriestly]

2. Yes. Who is going to pay for this?

Are they going to literally throw away money like this and then cut our Social Security claiming they are bankrupt.

I don't think so.

[AKDavy]

3. The reasons for such priorities must be too complex...

...or they'd share them.

This is a democratic republic, and democracy requires a well-informed public, after all.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Probably similar issues will arise here in the UK

when our March '11 Budget is announced in a few days time. Questions are already being asked about £70 million's worth of missiles over the past few days.

[Shiver]

5. The cruise missiles have long since been bought and paid for.

Been sitting in stockpile for I-don't-know-how-many years. Also heard that many of them were so old they were nearing their expiration date.

Now that we've fired them, we don't need anymore, right? Instead of replacing them, we can carve a good $110 million from the defense budget, plus however much it was costing to maintain them. Right?

...right?

[polichick]

6. There's always plenty o' money for our war industry - when oil is involved.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. The truly ghastly part of this is that they have thousands of those shitty things

in inventory & more being built all the time. They could launch them all day long & not even make a dent in the supply.

[damntexdem]

8. We can afford many more missiles for Libya -- and protect the funding for all the rest.

This stupid comparison keeps making the rounds on DU.

unrec

[Atman]

10. It's not "stupid comparison" at all.

How can we afford "many more" missles? We're being told by our GOP House that we can't even afford to meet the obligations we've already made to our seniors and those in NEED of help. I'm not telling you that, your government is telling you that. But they can afford all the cruise missles they want. They can afford more war in foreign lands. The only "stupid" thing about it is people who think it stupid to question what they're doing with our money.

[ButterflyBlood]

11. I don't think anyone here gives a fuck what the GOP House says

So yeah. Maybe if you want to debate this with Republicans it might have more validity.

[SolutionisSolidarity]

12. Then why aren't we?

We obviously have plenty of money for missiles, but I sure don't see any funding for social services being protected. If fact, it seems that Democrats have decided that they don't want to be seen promoting "big government spending". I'm used to the Democratic Party turning traitor on the middle and lower classes, so I'm hardly surprised. It's just a load of bullshit to go around cutting essential services because we need "shared sacrifices" at the same time we are launching yet another unprovoked war.

[WatsonT]

9. It's an investment