When people discuss increased defense budgets, do they know it mostly goes to companies, versus the soldiers?

Question

Out of the trillions of dollars that crooked politicians (mainly GOP) funnel to the defense budget, the bulk goes to corporate waste.

Why not double the pay of military service members versus CEOs?

Answer 1

and somehow the president can try to cut the counter terrerorism domestic budget IN HALF and you won't hear a peep about it on fox news or any other part of the right wing controlled corporate media.

but someone raises very legitimate questions about the $12 billion a MONTH that we currently WASTE in iraq - and they are labeled a traitor.

by the way, the above link about 'bocotting liberalism' is brought to you by the good folks over at the SALEM VOICE MINISTRIES - a religious group.

so much for respecting the separation of church and state and the law regarding their tax dodge for being a religious group with no political affiliation.

proving ONCE AGAIN that republicans are all too willing to enforce the laws only with regards to those who do not support them.

support the republicans and you can literally get away with murder - just as the roided up insane security guards for blackwater.

for me i'll never vote repubican again as long as i live...

Answer 2

Corporate waste. I would love to figure out what that means.

There are some CEO's that make ridiculous amounts of money and there is no doubt that the mean income of people in the United States is a lower percentage of the GDP than it was sixty years ago, but, how do you define what an acceptable income is?

My guess is that you have no idea what the ratio of mean income vs GDP was in 1946 or what it is in 2006, much less how much it has changed.

I also doubt that even if you knew what those numbers are that you could define an acceptable income range.

I have my opinion on what the income ratio to GDP should be and what kind the income range should be for about 92% of people.

Just post what you think the income std dev should be in percentage of GDP and maybe I can give you credit for an educated opinion.

Just exactly how do corporations "waste" money?

A person is paid. That person spends money on various goods and services. The money spent goes into other people's pockets, then they spend it and the process continues into infinity so even if a company with a government contract paid a CEO an "excessive" amount of money that money would contribute to the GDP and tax base of the nation many, many times not to mention be used for investment.

A soldier might be fine buying a two dollar flashlight for his use, but, if it is issued by Uncle Sam he will show what a cheap piece of crap it is to some reporter and then everyone will be angry at the military for buying junk.

Can the system become more efficient? Sure, Senators like Levin (D) from Michigan have done a lot to make the government purchasing system more efficient and you can read about what they have done on Levin's Senate website.

I would love to take Donald Trummp's salary and use it to double the military pay scale:

BUT

An E-9 with over 20 years who has a family makes around 70K including BAQ and Separate rats. Not bad for a 40 year old high school grad who joined at 18.

I bet you would love the "better on paper" government health care right up until you had family that cannot get good medical care.

So Levin, the Democrat on the Armed Services committee along with all the rest of the Democrats in congressional military budget oversight ignore these GOP congress people funneling money out of the budget that you, in your all knowing wisdom know all about.

If you really had a clue you could sick Levin's pit bulls on the issue and they would rip it apart, unless you think Democrats are even more corrupt then the GOP.

Really lame. Really Really lame.

You really have no idea what you are talking about do you.

Answer 3

May be why President Bush keeps declining the paperwork sent to him?? Maybe the DNC is also a big pork barrel of fun themselves. I know Candidate Clinton is #2, Teddy Kennedy is up there? Pelosi refuses to accept anything without a timetable for withdrawal yet we know that these special interests are getting fed. Far better than our brave soldier's are. ANd your front runner has accepted the backing of the weapons industry where no other in the race will?
I feel your argument needs some light. It's bi-partisan if nothing else. AND this Democratic Congress is holding back money for protecting & arming our soldiers. Politics as usual.

http://boycottliberalism.com/Scandals.htm
y'all are not so innocent either my friend...
Taking the money out of politicians pockets would be a darn right miracle. Or left. I can't see it happening until both sides of the aisle address this absurdity of these practices. So, if pigs fly or we get a descent President we must wait.

Answer 4

Agreed, most of the money goes to the bureaucrats, and very little actually goes to the troops in the field.

I can't remember exactly, but for every 10 dollars appropriated for defense budgets, bureaucrats get 7 of the 10 dollars.

Answer 5

Excellent question. Our VA hospitals are so underfunded that the malpractice suits against the VA are costing more than it would if they would have just hired good physicians in the first place, rather than hiring doctors with a huge record of liabilities and people who got their Ph.d. from the University of Phoenix online and did their residency in a nursing home.

Answer 6

I think a certain amount of financial accountability by the Pentagon should be part of the defense spending bill along with the nonbinding withdrawal date. I don't think the congress should pass this funding without it. Its one thing to support the troops and another to blindly throw billions of $ out the window.

Answer 7

You mean the soldiers don't get to design their own weapons systems? They don't get the money to buy their own body armor and uniforms from the local feed store?

There was a time when 15,000 military and 30,000 civilian casualties during a single campaign were considered "acceptable losses." Multi-billion dollar military budgets have created the type of warfare where 10 military and 5 civilian casualties in a week are considered reason enough to re-start the Nuremburg trials.

You're welcome.

Answer 8

Sure. What you call corporate waste is money to have companies create weapons, etc for the soldiers to fight the fight. Soldiers can't do this for themselves. The country will see direct benefit from the discoveries of corporations in our every day life—also things that we cannot make..

Answer 9

I do know that, and I am totally against it! And I totally agree with your second question, but I also feel that defense spending is way, way too high. Almost all wars are motivated by corporate profit, and almost all wars are started for the same reasons....PROFIT! The amount of defense spending that is TRULY AND HONESTLY NEEDED is negligible! *sm*

Answer 10

Sure does, to build things we are never going to use, then pay the same people to dismantle them and build new ones, that are going to be dismantled a decade later.
Its a real good scam.

There are entire airfields of tax payer purchased helicopters, and ground vehicles that are doing nothing but sitting and falling prey to entropy.
We haven't used one nuke, but we have to keep dismantling them and rebuilding them every decade or two...as a deterrent? come on get real!
But when it cycles back around for campaign contributions, i guess that makes it all worth it huh?