Monumental, Unrestrained Military Spending is Crippling America

OpEdNews Op Eds 1/23/2014 at 11:43:09
 

Monumental, Unrestrained Military Spending is Crippling America

 

By michael payne (about the author)     Permalink       


Related Topic(s): Creativity; Debt; Defense; Economy; Empire; Hubris; Innovation; Jobs; Leadership; Military Industrial Complex; (more...) 

global hegemony by freethoughtmanifesto.blogspot.com

Want to know why this country can't create jobs, why unemployment is rampant, why our education system is deteriorating, our economy is lifeless, and we have a national debt of $17.3 trillion? It's because funds that should be used to stabilize and rebuild this nation's foundations are being directed, instead, to the massive, military establishment and empire of bases across the world. 

Here's my modern-day adaptation of what President Eisenhower said as he left the presidency in 1953: for each billion dollars that this government spends on excessive weaponry and on maintaining the military empire, that is a billion dollars that cannot be spent on this nation's critically important domestic needs; from restoring our manufacturing sector and creating new jobs to improvements in our education systems and funding important social programs, including facilities for mental health problems.

 

America needs a strong military, but not a giant monolith spanning the world. It needs a force to defend America from any nation or terrorists who pose a direct, imminent threat to this country but not an overly aggressive military force whose intent is to dominate the world. 

The power that the U.S. military establishment holds over America is pervasive and very troubling. The degree to which military matters dominate this country's priorities and direction is staggering. As it sucks the wealth out of this nation, it stifles creativity, it suffocates innovation, both of which once made this country exceptional. 

Eisenhower predicted almost exactly what is happening in America today. But, though he had a vision of the future, in no way could he have predicted that the following disturbing scenario is being played out in recent times:

America winds down its manufacturing sector, ships its production and jobs to China which uses them to expand its workforce, grow its economy, generate massive profits from these endeavors, and then invests multi-billions in U.S. securities. 

The U.S. government takes the proceeds from these Chinese investments and spends them on a massive military empire. The Chinese government knows that America, instead of using these funds to strengthen its foundations, creating new jobs, reducing debt and funding critically important domestic needs, will use them as fuel for the engines of war. 

And the Chinese leaders know that America, by this foolhardy agenda, is continuing to materially weaken itself and that it won't be long before its financial House of Cards begins to collapse. Very clever, those Chinese. Their plan to weaken America is not the least bit complicated and it's working to perfection. 

Now, wouldn't it be reasonable to think that this president and the key members of Congress would be totally cognizant of that very scenario just portrayed; that they should be fully aware of China's plan and the strategy behind it? Could they be so blinded and shallow-minded not to understand what China's intentions are? 

Can't these governmental leaders perform basic math? All they need to do is to add up the annual revenues that this government receives from all sources, calculate total spending from all areas, being sure to include all aspects of military spending and all the proceeds from foreign investments, aka loans, (the lion's share from China) and calculate the result. 

Then let them take that same calculation and result, remove that portion of revenue that comes from Chinese investments and then see what they get. They can easily determine that the great shortfall in revenues vs. spending can be directly attributed to the grossly excessive military spending. And, if they could come out of their political fog they just might think about what's going to happen not if, but when, China decides to pull the plug on their investments. 

Here's an article that shows "The True Costs of Empire" and shows the enormous cost of maintaining these bases and the extent of waste of taxpayer funds. Experts on military matters have concluded that this nation spends as much as $1.2 trillion annually on maintaining our military. 

In speaking of the massive waste involved with military spending, here is a prime example of how taxpayer dollars are being totally misused in government contracts with defense contractors. Lockheed Martin's F35 fighter jet being developed for the Defense Department has been in the works for over a decade. The program has been beset by administrative problems, huge cost overruns and serious technical problems. It's generally acknowledged to be one of the biggest boondoggles in American history. Estimates put the current cost of developing, testing and building the F-35 multi-role fighter jet at $396 billion, a forecast that assumes U.S. purchases of 2,443 production jets, on top of 14 test planes. 

This is a program that many experts say is a complete failure and should be ended immediately. But this just happens to be a defense project that is simply to big to kill because it involves 1,300 suppliers in 45 states supporting 133,000 jobs. In other words, while it's a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars, it can't be terminated because of the people it employs and the profits that Lockheed Martin continues to rake in. This is pure government insanity but who's going to stop it?

This situation brings to mind a quote from Ross Perot when he was running for president in 1992; he famously referred to "that giant sucking sound", describing how American jobs would be going south to Mexico if the then proposed NAFTA free-trade agreement was approved. He was right and we are still paying the price for that government blunder. But today we hear a giant sucking sound far louder than the one described by Perot. It is the bloated, obscene, out of control military spending that is sucking the lifeblood out of America. 

There is nothing complicated about what this government must do. It must convert this nation's concentration on military supremacy into a concentration on economic supremacy. A significant portion of the military funding must be shifted to domestic needs; we need to start rebuilding America beginning with the restoration of our manufacturing sector, the driving force of growth and prosperity; that which creates jobs for Americans who, in turn, buy American products. That's the essence of our economic system, driven by the purchasing power of the American consumer. 

We have to end our obsession with war and become obsessed with addressing and solving our domestic problems. We have to cure our addiction to military hubris and domination of other nations and embrace a foreign policy that uses diplomacy and peaceful negotiations to solve problems between nations. In many international surveys of opinions of people of other nations it has become very evident that America has become an object of fear and is considered a major threat to world peace. 

It's time for this government to read the handwriting on the wall; to listen to the constant warnings being issued about the great dangers facing this nation. The leadership in Washington can take immediate, positive steps to phase out this military empire or it can stand by and watch as this empire comes crashing down on America. 

Michael Payne

 Michael Payne is an independent progressive activist. His writings deal with social, economic, political and foreign policy issues. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois and a U.S. Army veteran. His writings are meant to (more...)