The country is going to go broke for the sake of meddling in Afghanistan

[bigtree]

My job, others jobs are hanging on a slim thread of our wavering, faltering economy. This action by the president should depress the nation's finances just enough to snap those threads. We're fucked, I'm fucked. No chance to get out of all of this militarism and build on our economic future. Just hunkering down here in America while our president insists we wage war, waiting for them to just let it go.

The president talked about our 'prosperity' and his interest in 'building our own nation'. His decision will make that ambition nearly impossible for the bulk of Americans. We're fucked.

[HipChick]

1. Were you asleep the last 8yrs?

[bigtree]

3. don't even fucking bother

that's got nothing to do with anything . . . I was fucked then and I'm fucked now.

[HipChick]

11. really? I was forced to train people tasked with taking US outsourced jobs..

those jobs will not be back

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Were you and are you still?

[Horse with no Name]

2. Our country CANNOT sustain healthcare AND wars

Guess which one won?
:(

[bigtree]

9. no substantial number of green jobs, no peace dividend

no hope here

[Horse with no Name]

13. It's all going to the Middeast

It's his war now.
His legacy.

[bigtree]

15. whoopee

. . . we're all going broke . . . unless you happen to be in the business of war and warring.

[shraby]

4. What do you mean "GOING" to go broke? We ARE broke.

[rhett o rick]

19. Agree. nt

[earth mom]

5. This country is on a complete race to the bottom while the rich bastards steal everything that isn't

nailed down.

Myself and others have been warning everyone since the primaries.

Yeah, I've known we're fucked for almost 2 years now-on top of the 8 years * stole. :argh:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. No it isn't.

The estimated cost of the campaign amounts to something like 8% of what we spend every year just servicing interest on the existing national debt

It's a lot of money, but relatively speaking it's a drop in the bucket.

[bigtree]

7. you ignore the machine which supports this militarism is still being funded

. . . to the tune of over 60% of that budget. Add the aid and development money and we're talking about most of our hard-worked-for contributions going to war and support for the warring. Oh, and there's the small matter of the contractors.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

22. The military does not consume 60% of the budget.

It's more like 30% - 35% depending on how you figure it.

[bigtree]

25. depending on how you figure it, indeed

from War Resisters League: http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm




Current military” includes Dept. of Defense ($653 billion), the military portion from other departments ($150 billion), and an additional $162 billion to supplement the Budget’s misleading and vast underestimate of only $38 billion for the “war on terror.” “Past military” represents veterans’ benefits plus 80% of the interest on the debt.*

The Government Deception

The pie chart below is the government view of the budget. This is a distortion of how our income tax dollars are spent because it includes Trust Funds (e.g., Social Security), and the expenses of past military spending are not distinguished from nonmilitary spending. For a more accurate representation of how your Federal income tax dollar is really spent, see the large chart (top).

the government's deceptive pie chart:


Source: Congressional Budget Office for FY2008

These figures are from an analysis of detailed tables in the “Analytical Perspectives” book of the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009. The figures are federal funds, which do not include trust funds — such as Social Security — that are raised and spent separately from income taxes. What you pay (or don’t pay) by April 15, 2008, goes to the federal funds portion of the budget. The government practice of combining trust and federal funds began during the Vietnam War, thus making the human needs portion of the budget seem larger and the military portion smaller.

*Analysts differ on how much of the debt stems from the military; other groups estimate 50% to 60%. We use 80% because we believe if there had been no military spending most (if not all) of the national debt would have been eliminated.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. That makes no sense at all.

You'd have to allocate all debt servicing and a large chunk of discretionary spending as "military expenditures" for that to be even remotely true.

[Booster]

10. Well, it worked so well with Russia. Bet they're laughing their

asses off over there cause we're falling right into the same trap.

[bigtree]

12. and China

. . . since they're financing more than 40% of the debt we're employing to pay for these military misadventures.

[cbdo2007]

14. Your right....the market's on it's way down to 6,000!!! AAARRRGGHH

ha ha. You "end of the world" people are hilarious on here.

[bigtree]

17. not the world

. . . just my little part of it, and others.

The market? Where do you live?

[SOS]

21. Who cares if it goes to 6,000?

Never gamble with money you can't afford to lose.

[blues90]

16. no arguement from me here

[rhett o rick]

18. Can you spell military/industrial/media complex? nt

[L0oniX]

20. Stop joining the military! No troops = no war.

[TexasObserver]

23. Recommend

[Vidar]

24. K&R.

[Divine Discontent]

26. rec