We can't help refugees from countries we bombed because ....

We can't help refugees from countries we bombed and other non-Americans in trouble because we need to help our own citizens.

We can't help people here because [fill-in-the-blank]. Reasons vary. Could be debt is too high (this from people who support the GOP pumping up the debt to give tax breaks to the uber-wealthy and to grow the military). Could be that the people who need money are losers. I've even heard that excuse for why we shouldn't worry about how many veterans are falling through the cracks -- they're losers.

It's always one excuse after another to keep funneling money from the government to the corporate barons.


And it's ironic that the GOP keeps growing our military spending. It's already more than the next 7 countries combined. And what are we going to do with it? Bomb some more countries to create more refugees that we won't take responsibility for?

If we were trying to help our veterans that would ease the irony a little, but even when the GOP creates a new program to help vets they say they have to cut vet funds somewhere else to pay for the new program. Can't use all that new defense money to help the vets. The vets have to tighten their belt and be more efficient. Just like schools need to tighten their belts and be more efficient. But somehow that advice doesn't apply to our military. Gotta have more money for the military.






I know both parties are complicit in this cycle of keeping the Military Industrial Complex booming and keeping the donor class fat and sassy, but Democrats at least show some interest in helping the poor who are being left behind and some interest in helping the people whose lives we tore apart when we bombed their countries. Providing a little balance between the favors they do for the rich and what they do for the rest of the people they're supposed to be serving.

The military budget grew last year alone by nearly 50 billion, and next year is slated to grow another 100 billion [1]. So called financial conservatives will not bat an eye at these numbers, but when Bernie Sanders' proposes a program for tuition free colleges, trade schools and training programs for all Americans, which would've cost about 70 billion, they start screaming about unicorn fantasy socialist time. That cost doesn't even include the growth of our economy from having a better educated populace with higher paying jobs.

They always, always will have enough of other people's money to shower defense contractors and arab nations with, but never, ever enough money for actual hard working Americans. The right does not value the American worker and they do not value fiscal responsibility when it comes to the things they want. If you are going to ridicule using tax payer money on actual Americans, its time for you on the right to start justifying these yearly increases that far exceed the cost anything anyone on the left has proposed.

If we look at the military history of The United States we will see that our nation has participated in more military operations, more 'police' actions, and more wars than any other nation on planet Earth within the past two plus centuries.
The United States has spent more money on defense, weapons systems, and war than all nations combined for that same period of time.
In case you haven't noticed, since the end of WWII The United States has exponentially increased spending for all of the above, all while we have utilized covert operations to topple governments, and to support authoritarian regimes.
The MIC is firmly established within our society & culture to the point that it will never be reversed. This 'industry' and the associated war machine are BIG business which feeds Wall Street & main street.

I would agree that the Democrats would seem to be much better at attempts to help those in our nation that are less fortunate but when we as a nation have broken the proverbial piggy bank who is going to be left out when it comes to belt tightening? I believe we all know the answer.

In my view & this is only my opinion, there was at one period of time in America's history in which we had a real opportunity to make a real difference in our own back yard, within our borders, to make the type of improvements here within our society for the greater good.
Our leaders failed at that & some times you cannot go back.
Some times in life you only have so much opportunity until a window closes, and then you have to do the best you can do with the choices made.
America has IMO made some really bad choices but that's life.

I hope you don't believe the MIC is gonna change because it will only get worse; we have seen that already.

Our society will become more unequal as time passes & we will become even more polarized; it is inevitable.

Fasten your seat belts; it's gonna get real.

RabidAlpaca said:

The military budget grew last year alone by nearly 50 billion, and next year is slated to grow another 100 billion [1]. So called financial conservatives will not bat an eye at these numbers, but when Bernie Sanders' proposes a program for tuition free colleges, trade schools and training programs for all Americans, which would've cost about 70 billion, they start screaming about unicorn fantasy socialist time. That cost doesn't even include the growth of our economy from having a better educated populace with higher paying jobs.

They always, always will have enough of other people's money to shower defense contractors and arab nations with, but never, ever enough money for actual hard working Americans. The right does not value the American worker and they do not value fiscal responsibility when it comes to the things they want. If you are going to ridicule using tax payer money on actual Americans, its time for you on the right to start justifying these yearly increases that far exceed the cost anything anyone on the left has proposed.

Click to expand...

I agree that ever more 'defense' spending is a huge waste of valuable resources but it does reward those that pump the campaign cash to those in DC who dole ever more out. One problem with making anything 'free' is that it increases demand for it but not the supply of it - simply causing prices to rise. It is not as if (public?) colleges, (private?) trade schools and (job?) training programs would be offered to all Americans or that completely rational restrictions would not be remain in place to deny (the most needy?) folks admission.

A more rational approach (to funding higher education) would be to allow employers (job creators?) tax credits for tuition assistance - at least then we spend public money on education that US employers actually need instead of cranking out more folks with degrees in useless specialty fields that end up creating highly accredited waiters, starving artists/musicians, convenience store clerks and Walmart employees.