joG
DP Veteran
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You are setting yourself up as judge-'n-jury - so the task is impossible.
I am familiar only with the boondoggles going on in the bases of Germany. And I know Germans who do not understand how Army personnel can live better than they do. (Because the subsidies afforded to the German army are by no means equal in either quality or magnitude.)
But I agree that the massive waste in expenditure is the DoD. It should have never been allowed to grow so large. This chart alone shows its historical path:
Getting it to $300B should be accomplished somewhat by attrition. But getting it lower will have to come from redefining its mission. I'm all for both. (And note on the above chart how the resumption of increased DoD-budgets coincided with the election of a Replicant PotUS in 2000. 'Nuff said?)
The country has other more Pertinent Priorities of which I doubt most Americans even see clearly ...
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I realize that you have a goose to cook, but at least be honest about your facts. As many people realize a price on a good should be seen relative to income. The suite at the Ritz is cheap for many that have lived there, but not so for others. In the case of military spending it is true that we spend more than other countries and more than we fairly should relative to rich countries in Europe or Japan. But the spending is not so very high in a historical context, if you put it in reference to the economy funding it and look at the history and not a small section selected to fit a populist demand.
US Government Defense Spending History with Charts - a www.usgovernmentspending.com briefing