Why Does the U.S. Spend $1 Trillion a Year to Fight an Enemy with No Ships, Warplanes or Tanks?

[The Straight Story]

Why Does the U.S. Spend $1 Trillion a Year to Fight an Enemy with No Ships, Warplanes or Tanks?: George C. Wilson
Monday, April 26, 2010

The United States spends more than $1 trillion a year on national defense, argues George C. Wilson of Congress Daily—an amount that seems ridiculous when considering is the nature of the enemy.

Total spending on America’s security goes far beyond the Department of Defense’s yearly budget, currently at about $550 billion. There also is the $160 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; $122 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs; $65.3 billion for defense-related international affairs;; $43.6 billion for the Department of Homeland Security; $26 billion on defense-related expenses by the Department of the Treasury; nearly $19 billion spent by the Department of Energy for nuclear weaponry; $7.6 billion on miscellaneous accounts related to the common defense; and $53.4 billion for just the interest on the Pentagon’s healthcare fund and defense portion of the national debt.

All told, the U.S. “is spending more than $1 trillion a year on national defense despite fighting only two little wars against enemies with no ships, warplanes or tanks,” writes Wilson...

http://www.allgov.com/Opinion_from_the_Left/ViewNews/Why_Does_the_US_Spend_1_Trillion_Dollars_a_Year_to_Fight_an_Enemy_with_No_Ships_Warplanes_or_Tanks__George_C_Wilson_100426

[rurallib]

1. jobs?

[yurbud]

30. how do Europe and Japan have jobs and a high standard of living without massive defense spending?

[hack89]

38. Japan actually spends a lot on defense

they are ranked 4th or 5th in the world depending who you cite. They have a large, modern and potent military. They would spend much more if not for the US forces stationed in Japan - a good example is that they would build a nuclear deterrent if America ever decided to withdraw from the Western Pacific.

Having lived in Japan, I can tell that the Japanese do not have a high standard of living compared to the US or Western Europe - for example the average Japanese could never aspire to own what in America would be considered a modest starter home. For the most part they live in cramped tiny houses and apartments.

The unemployment figures in Japan are around 5% but that has much to do with demographics as any thing else. Japan has a low birthrate and the highest median age of any country on Earth. They are literally running out of workers - which raises serious questions about they can keep their economy working 20-30 years from now.

[blindpig]

39. Naw, profits.

Jobs are not their concern and should be eliminated whenever possible as they are a constraint on profits.

The business of America is business.

[bridgit]

2. Over budget R&D and sky rocketing oil prices soon to be stratospheric

[Swede]

3. Paranoia strikes deep.

Fear is a great motivator for a certain mindset.

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. Because it is an easy way to steal money by a certain group in America

It is madness, but there it is!

[Moochy]

11. Institutionalized Graft in the name of National Defense

Same set of rules, same board game since 1946...

[unc70]

14. Modern version derived from earlier versions older than the Republic

Even worse than the institutionalized version of this "game" has been the sorry state of officiating in recent years. As with other sports (e.g. college basketball), the entire nature of the play has changed by the unwillingness of the refs to call fouls, even for obvious infractions -- extra steps overlooked, carrying/palming, changing pivot foot, hard fouls. Almost none of the highlight plays are possible if the rules were strictly enforced, but it is more exciting this way.

It is not accident we have the specific term "war profiteer" which used to be only one step down from treason.

[Moochy]

15. 'War Profiteer' is the common element between

Neo-conservatives and Neo-Liberals.

[NoSheep]

22. You're exactly right. The powerful invest our $ in their business interests instead of their own .

It worked for Bush in Texas when he got his baseball stadium built on the tax payer's dime.

[kenny blankenship]

5. The question supplies its own answer: a trillion fucking dollars

still a lot of money.

[redqueen]

6. Three words:

Military Industrial Complex

[crikkett]

36. opium poppies & cannabis

cash crops = money for more black ops

[zipplewrath]

7. Talk about moving goal posts

Total spending on America’s security goes far beyond the Department of Defense’s yearly budget, currently at about $550 billion.

Look, I can agree with the assessment that we spend too much on the defense department, but this is a tad riduculous. A headline about "fighting an enemy" with budget numbers for "total spending on Amerca's security" is a bit absurd. This would include the coast guard, border patrol, and the CIA. Those organizations aren't "fighting an enemy with no ships, planes or tanks".

We need to focus on the real excess, which is that we are funding a defense department to fight a war against an enemy that no longer exists (the USSR). Our real military threats don't require anywhere near the military we have, nor much of their weaponry. And, as we found out in our two recent wars, they aren't equipped for the wars we're apparently going to choose to fight.

[ixion]

8. bottom line: money

at the end of the day, that's what all the death and destruction amount to.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. To prevent the Taliban from building nuclear submarines in caves.

[EFerrari]

28. . . .

:rofl:

[Moochy]

10. What's a Trillion Dollars? This get's voters to the polls!

We can't turn this big ship around, it's purpose built to rape the treasury. Obama can't stop this machine, he can only nudge it in slightly less evil directions. I think the allowed change is only 2 degrees per non-election year.

Department of Defense: $550 billion.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: $160 billion ;
Department of Veterans Affairs: $122 billion
defense-related international affairs: $65.3 billion
Department of Homeland Security $43.6 billion
Department of the Treasury: $26 billion ;
Department of Energy for nuclear weaponry: $19 billion
Miscellaneous accounts related to the common defense: $7.6 billion
Just the interest on the Pentagon’s healthcare fund and defense portion of the national debt:
$53.4 billion

[struggle4progress]

12. Hear President Eisenhower in 1961: "... This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a

large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist ..."

[MrScorpio]

13. To make the Military - Congressional - Industrial Complex richer than it already is

It's just one huge scam

[stray cat]

16. They did ok on 9-11.....better than Japan did with Pearl Harbor or than Germany

which never did attack the mainland

[old mark]

17. Could it be that someone is profiting from all this?

Could it be that all this was really for no other reason?

G.W. Bush's regime should be in prison.

m

[Moochy]

18. Accountability is Icky

Did you not hear that campaign speech on date X where Obama told us not to expect any?

[old mark]

20. I think we must see some left wing anger at some point in the near future.

The point that we voted for the current administration seems to have been lost on them.


m

[NoSheep]

23. Yep. There was a graph here showing just that. Follow the money.

[madokie]

19. Oil and a gas pipeline

no other reasons other than the defense contractors bottom line.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Because we have to defend ourselves and our allies from China and Russia, that's why. nt

[proteus_lives]

29. Shhh, no one actually wants to hear that.

[Arctic Dave]

33. 1950s, so nice to see you again. its been a long time since you came by.

Simple nuke deterrence nulls that argument.

[Captain Hilts]

37. THAT's the 1950s view. nt

[AngryAmish]

24. Well, we are to a great extent the world hegemon right now

Do you like having cheap TVs? French cheese? Wine that is not $20 a bottle? Fruit year round?

Piracy has been one of the things that have prevent world trade since there was humans. It is always easier to steal stuff than to make stuff. Most people can't make their own stuff (I don't want to be a subsidence farmer - I like living into my 50s. I also like watching the ballgame.) Why was trade on the Silk Road on a wide scale only possible after Genghis Khan? Because the Mongols wiped out most of the bandits and scared the shit out of everyone else. They were the hegemons of that area.

Before us it was the Royal Navy that were the pirate hunters. Why? Because Britannia made great wealth trading across the seas. Their investments were worth it to them.

So, the US gets great advantages by being the military hegemon nowadays. Would it be nice if other countries (especially Europe and Japan) pulled their weight? Sure.

A huge US military makes other people think it is not worth the bother to get in the war fighting business. What if Brazil felt it needed to be a counterweight to the US? It is too expensive to even get into that business.

If we don't have all these carrier battle groups someone else will - or at least try.

[TheKentuckian]

25. Nope, I want more expensive manufactured goods and textiles made right here

If I want French cheese then I'll pay a premium. We produce the lower cost wines and a rich variety of fruit in the USA.

Free trade reduces the variety of opportunity for the American people as does dumping half our tax dollars into a deterrent force and empire building.

I think your "advantages" are just the opposite for the long term financial security of the average citizen.

[Vinnie From Indy]

26. An aspect of the argument worth consideration...

History concurs that in regard to projecting power, vacuums are filled quickly. While I am an ardent opponent of the current insane military spending by our country, it is important to consider the argument of US hegemony making the world safer in a general way by making the level of entry into global warmaking so high for other countries.

[blindpig]

40. So imperialism is good just so you can have stuff?

Thanks for the honesty.

Cut the Pentagon budget 90%, the only people hurt will be the capitalists.

[NoSheep]

27. Here's why I asked for this today. DUer sinkingfeeling provided the graph

[Prometheus Bound]

31. 1. To create jobs?

2. To create obscene profits of well connected corporations?
3. To test new weaponry?
4. To prevent American taxpayers from wasting too much money on worthless consumer shit? (wait, that cancels #1)
5. So Americans can say 'We're number 1' at something?
6. So Americans are so busy trying to make enough money to pay their taxes they have no time for revolution?

OK, I give up. Why?

[HughMoran]

32. Jobs program

oh, and an excuse to build more weapons - which also provides jobs by the boatload.

[unhappycamper]

34. A little more info to support your/my position

LPDs - $1.8 billion




MV-22s - $100 million dollars




DDG-1000s - $5+ billion dollars




F-22s - $355 million dollars




F-35s - $243 million dollars




Ford-class aircraft carriers - $11.5 billion dollars

(We just laid down the keel a few months ago.)


LCS ships - $704 million dollars






And in other stupid related news, we're spending a million dollars a year per soldier in Afghanistan, gasoline delivered in Afghanistan costs $400, we are spending $200,000 a minute in the sandbox, MRAPs cost one million each, etc. etc ad naseum.

[mmonk]

35. It is about trade and transnational corporations, not about enemies.

No country wants to commit suicide.