3 Charts That Tell The Story

[Panaconda]

I suspect these are nothing new or shocking to most folks here but certainly it bears repeating and every picture says... or something like that.

[kentuck]

1. It's a huge problem..

No doubt about it.

[ixion]

5. Indeed... directly and indirectly one of the largest

in my opinion. The MIC has been a stalwart proponent of these so-called 'wars' of abstraction because it's great for business.

One way or the other, they are at the heart of our problem.

[Fumesucker]

2. K&R for the Peace Dividend..

[Hannah Bell]

13. wasn't that a joke? i'm still laughing. remember when, once we defeated the ussr, it would

be peace & prosperity for all eternity?

still laughing at that one, too.

[another saigon]

3. k&r

This should be a mandatory visual for every hypocrite demanding more war.

[progressoid]

4. Woo Hoo! We're #1. We're #1. We're #1.

:banghead:

[Frustratedlady]

6. Now, let me get this straight...the Repugs hate welfare, right?

Isn't some of that bright pink corporate welfare? Just sayin'.

[elocs]

7. This, along with climate change denial and lack of preparation for it will collapse this nation.

It will likely happen this century and at age 58 I won't be around to see the final crash, but it will come like it has with other empires. It can happen in a generation.

Republicans will speed it along and Democrats won't help to stop it either. Greed drives the Republicans and far too many Democrats are infected by it also. They will drive this nation to be like Gollum in the movie The Return of the King where he is so gleefully happy that he finally has the One Ring as he is about to sink into the lave to his ultimate demise.

So, we keep treading water even though we will ultimately drown because that's what you do. Or looked at another way, as a nation we are in a sinking boat, a Titanic, and even if we could stop it we are too busy fighting among ourselves to prevent it. There will be no white knight, no savior.

Those charts map out our nation's demise. Maybe others will study them someday and actually learn from them.

[donheld]

8. k & R

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. Look at all the unrecs!

Oh, wait.

K&R, BTW.

[Mimosa]

15. How can you 'see' number of un-recs? n/t

[Panaconda]

18. I was wondering

that also.

[Quantess]

24. You can't.

I bet that was just an excuse to get people to K&R this thread. :)

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Holy Crap! I am stunned a the chart acomparing our military spending to the rest of the world.

We, alone spend close to as much as the entire rest of the world combined!!!!!

That military industrial complex will get you every time....

Can you imagine what a great country this could be if we got rid of that military budget..? Wow....

[dkf]

11. Is past military veterans benefits?

Are we really going to begrudge this expenditure?

[dreamnightwind]

12. Begrudge or not, it's a real expense

It should certainly be counted, it correlates to the size of our military. Begrudge it? Well, if we have less people serving in the military (as we damn well should) we'll have to pay less in veteran's benefits.

[dkf]

14. Are you proposimg cutting it?

I imagine as the population ages those costs will go up as older people are more expensive.

[Oilwellian]

16. Ding, ding, ding

If we stopped our constant warmongering, we'd have fewer veterans. Hence, lowering the expense. See how that works?

[dreamnightwind]

23. Thanks

for stating the obvious to poster dkf. That was some convoluted reasoning if I ever saw it. Veteran's benefits shouldn't be begrudged, so they shouldn't be included in assessment of military spending? Wow, just wow, seems entirely disingenuous to me.

Obviously if we reduce the size of the military it will take time for the corresponding reduction of veteran's benefits to manifest. Just as obviously all such veteran's benefits must be counted in any honest evaluation of our country's crippling obsession with militarism.

And no, I'm not for cutting benefits to veterans, except by making fewer future veterans, vastly fewer veterans.

None of this argument is to you, of course, it's to the other poster...

[inna]

17. And... the "defense" budget keeps growing.

[blindpig]

19. Hey, Empite ain' cheap...

but it sure is profitable.

k&r

[Supersedeas]

20. a RW employment program

[fascisthunter]

21. but our military budget is for spreading love, harmony and democracy

it's really worked out swell for the majority of americans... :sarcasm:

[maryf]

22. Kicking this...

and book marking, I have the top chart in paper form, share it constantly, the other two will be joining suit! Thanks! wish I could recommend, and welcome to DU!