Cutting defense spending more popular than cutting education or Social Security

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The chart above ... is the single best explanation of why it's so much easier to say you want to cut government spending than it is to actually cut it. The blue line reports the results of an Economist/YouGov poll asking people "If government spending is reduced in order to balance the budget, which of the following government programs should receive lower federal funding than they currently do?" The red line is the percentage of the budget these programs actually account for.

The only program that more than a third of the public wants to see cut is foreign aid. Bummer, then, that it accounts for less than a single percent of the budget.

But the fact that people want a smaller budget deficit but no reductions in actual spending is old news, and well accounted for in Congress. What's interesting about this chart, however, is that a sizable minority of the population wants to cut defense spending. In fact, defense spending's size of the budget and the number of people who want to cut it match up much more closely than most of the other two bars on the graph.

...

Given how terrified politicians are to touch defense spending -- we even invented a category called "non-defense discretionary spending" in order to protect it -- maybe it's time to take another look. Washington may consider defense spending sacred, but the country doesn't -- at least not more than anything else.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/04/cutting_defense_spending_more.html

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Did my imgur.com image not show up for you?

[Pooky 3,786]

Given how terrified politicians are to touch defense spending -- we even invented a category called "non-defense discretionary spending" in order to protect it -- maybe it's time to take another look. Washington may consider defense spending sacred, but the country doesn't -- at least not more than anything else.

Defence spending has two main problems.

First off, the contractors know that the DoD's audit department is as toothless as a spiny anteater and so they can get away with just about anything (see the cost overruns on the Lockheed-Martin F35 Thunderpig)

Secondly, a lot of defence intelligence is confidential and not available to the public. What the public doesn't know, it doesn't care too much about, so it doesn't want to see its money spent on something it doesn't know. Things like the capability gap in the USAF, in which the legacy types it flies now, the F-15 and F-16, will run out of airframe hours before there are enough F-35 Thunderpigs around to replace them. That is, if the Thunderpig doesn't get cancelled under the Nunn-McCurdy Law.

But things like this don't get much notice, so the public doesn't care. They will only care when servicemen start dying because the budget cuts leave them vulnerable. But by then it's too late.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Pooky

[justashooter 430]

typically, the idiot ignores the facts.

the foreign aid, environment, housing, mass transit, and agriculture benefits do not advantage the typical individual. they are give-aways to special interest groups. the housing benefit is the largest of these by far, and is often given to the least deserving (non-productive types like obama's aunt and other illegal aliens).

this graphic is no surprise.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Cuts across the board and deeply.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Did my imgur.com image not show up for you?

Nope.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Nope.

It's still not?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's still not?

No sir.

Maybe that's one of the sites I've blocked images from. Let me check.

Edit: I was blocking images from that site.

Edited April 12, 2010 by El Buscador

[lostinblue 1,989]

Defence spending has two main problems.

First off, the contractors know that the DoD's audit department is as toothless as a spiny anteater and so they can get away with just about anything (see the cost overruns on the Lockheed-Martin F35 Thunderpig)

Secondly, a lot of defence intelligence is confidential and not available to the public. What the public doesn't know, it doesn't care too much about, so it doesn't want to see its money spent on something it doesn't know. Things like the capability gap in the USAF, in which the legacy types it flies now, the F-15 and F-16, will run out of airframe hours before there are enough F-35 Thunderpigs around to replace them. That is, if the Thunderpig doesn't get cancelled under the Nunn-McCurdy Law.

But things like this don't get much notice, so the public doesn't care. They will only care when servicemen start dying because the budget cuts leave them vulnerable. But by then it's too late.

Let's see.....We can put up with some cost over runs and keep some talented engineers employed and our country a bit more secure. Would it not be looked at "shovel ready " job stimulus. Programs are in place and work is being done NOW. OR we could build more dog parks .....Keep the people working in this manner. When the dog park is finished with it's cost overruns we can hire Acorn workers to pick up the dog ####### and pack our defense systems with it.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Cut all programs except defense spending by 100%. Cut defense spending by 50%.

Let's be merry and happy together after that!

[Ali G. 37]

Cut all programs except defense spending by 100%. Cut defense spending by 50%.

Let's be merry and happy together after that!

Paul, next time I fly to Aus, I will buy you a ticket.After you have actually seen what government investments in the appropriate areas accomplishes, you can then come tell me how how awesome zero spending is.

We can even take a trip to see the results of zero spending. Unfortunately, we might have to travel to an African nation to find an example of libertarianism in action.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Ali G.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Paul, next time I fly to Aus, I will buy you a ticket.After you have actually seen what government investments in the appropriate areas accomplishes, you can then come tell me how how awesome zero spending is.

We can even take a trip to see the results of zero spending. Unfortunately, we might have to travel to an African nation to find an example of libertarianism in action.

Sweet! Free vacation!

[luckytxn 2,264]

Sweet! Free vacation!

Go to the undeveloped countries first as your money goes a lot further there. Go to Oz land first then their prices and taxes will eat up all the money quickly. Bring ear plugs with you to Oz land as they are a bunch of whiners there.

[Ali G. 37]

Go to the undeveloped countries first as your money goes a lot further there. Go to Oz land first then their prices and taxes will eat up all the money quickly. Bring ear plugs with you to Oz land as they are a bunch of whiners there.

If someone was to quantify and plot the stupidity of your posts, they do seem to be getting dumber monthly.