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Subscribe to RSSWhile Chuck Hagel’s quest to become defense secretary was a long and painful ordeal, he’ll be facing a different kind of pain once he’s confirmed - likely on Tuesday - and replaces Leon Panetta at the Pentagon.
In addition to the spending cuts required by the Budget Control Act, which will trim the Defense Department’s budget resources by 8 percent in the current fiscal year, Hagel faces a nightmarish budget challenge.
He will be running a department with nearly 1.4 million people serving in uniform and nearly 800,000 civilian employees.
Hagel’s department is bigger than several major U.S. corporations, but its finances remain deeply troubled, obscure and impenetrable – even to budget experts and even after more than 20 years of warnings from the federal government’s accounting watchdog, the Government Accountability Office.
Just two weeks ago, the GAO kept the Pentagon on its annual "High Risk List" of departments whose books are so mysterious and opaque that they're at high risk of fraud, waste and mismanagement.
Related: After seven-week struggle, Hagel poised for defense confirmation
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Former Senator Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of defense on Capitol Hill January 31, 2013 in Washington, DC.
The GAO said that the Defense Department “is one of the few federal entities that cannot accurately account for its spending or assets.” The report added, “Without accurate, timely, and useful financial information, DOD is severely hampered in making sound decisions affecting its operations.”
As one specific example, the accounting watchdog cited the department’s supply-chain management which as of late 2011 had amassed $9.2 billion worth of excess inventory on hand and had already ordered $523 million worth of inventory which was purchased but likely unnecessary.
And the GAO noted that it had first put the Pentagon’s supply-chain management problem on its "High Risk List" in 1990.
Outside observers agree that the Pentagon’s finances are troubled and that it costs taxpayers too much money to get each aircraft carrier, missile, drone and other weapons system.
Retired Army Gen. David Barno, the former U.S. commander in Afghanistan and now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, told a Council on Foreign Relations panel discussion earlier this month, “We're delivering capability in the military sense for more and more overhead cost year after year after year” due to an “egregiously inefficient Defense Department that's leaking money.”
He said the Pentagon’s method of operating is comparable to driving a 1985 Oldsmobile which is leaking oil, “and every time we go out on the highway at 65 miles an hour, we come back after another day, there's more and more oil on the floor of our garage in the morning. And our solution has been to buy more oil, to put it in the engine and go drive it at 65 miles an hour.”
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee engage in a sharp discussion regarding Chuck Hagel's nomination as defense secretary and his disclosure of personal income.
And Hagel himself said in August of 2011 that the Defense Department “in many ways, has been bloated. Let's look at the reality here. The Defense Department's gotten everything it wanted the last 10 years and more.”
Despite the warnings from GAO and others, the Defense Department’s financial morass wasn’t a major focus of the questioning last month at Hagel’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hagel did field some queries on the department’s finances from Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Angus King, I-Maine.
But apart from referring to the need for giving his subordinates in the Pentagon “flexibility” and “direction and expectations,” Hagel supplied little insight on what plans he might have in mind to make the Pentagon more accountable. And he more often asked questions than supplied answers.
Hagel did say that in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Defense Department inspector generals had uncovered “billions and billions of dollars that are unaccounted for. Corruption, fraud, waste, abuse, it really is quite astounding.”
But he added, “When you think about the universe of money that went into both those wars, no one should be surprised.”
Then he asked “How do we fix it? What we do? How do we learn from this?”
He added more questions later in the hearing, “Why aren't we auditing these programs? Where's the accountability? That's certainly an area that we're going to have to take a look at.” And within days Hagel will have his chance to begin that accountability and to reduce the bloat he saw in his department.
This story was originally published on Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:34 AM EST
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This is what I've been saying all along. Our so-called Department of "Defense" needs to be returned to its alleged purpose, which is defending the country. We have way too much presence in foreign countries where we are using the Department of "Defense" to impose our will on others. And there are far too many projects that are designed primarily to line the pockets of lawmakers, vendors, consultants, lobbyists, and others. In the meantime we leave our southern border almost completely unprotected from the ongoing invasion of foreign nationals, some of whom could be terrorists. This misuse of the so-called DoD is, or should be, the greatest scandal of our country's history.
"Hagel’s department is bigger than several major U.S. corporations..."
Maybe we should follow suit of the other US corporations and outsource our militaty to the Chinese.
The "bloated" pentagon can use a LAXATIVE, and get rid of all the WAR LOVERS that are only looking to keep their jobs by promoting war.
Enough of trying to "defend" other countries that do not give a rat's ass about us, unless, of course, they need MONEY
Exactly as you put it. Can you EVER wonder why the GOVERNMENT is SIXTEEN AND A HALF TRILLION in DEBT? This is ONE of the reasons we are in this hole: NO ACCOUNTABILITY to the TAXPAYERS. We probably have some POPE LOVERS working in the PENTAGON.
The PENTAGON is no different than the HOLY SEE in ROME......NO ACCOUNTABILITY and EVERYTHING is done in SECRET, adding to INTRIGUE and SUSPICION of HOW the TAXPAYERS'S money is being spent on NATIONAL DEFENSE.
WHAT a CHARADE!...if not a JOKE.......on the TAXPAYER.
Cut defense and minimize the threat of the 'military-industrial complex' to our society and to the world.
The defense has been so 'bloated' ever since WWII. We have lost imagination about how to grow the economy, other than . The only thing stimulating the economy through massive defense spending. The world has been very peaceful since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The only wars have been Bush's wars from Bush Sr's wars in Iraq and Panama to GW Bush's wars on the world (Iraq and Afghanistan) with his WMD nonsense.
correction to #1.5: We have lost imagination about how to grow the economy, other than
. The only thingstimulating the economy through massive defense spending..
Cut defense - why should we need the capacity of destroying the world 20 times, all we just need is the capacity to destroy our potential enemies once and for all.
Only if the US cuts its holy cow to half its size and increased spending on education and infrastructure.
That way US will
a) achieve better economic growth
b) achieve jobs growth
c) create a strong middle class
d) help contribute to more peaceful world.
But alas... there are way too many neo-cons who are interested in making the Military Industrial complex hum and enrich their pockets at the expense of average americans and the entire world frankly.
Please Mr Obama, explain why the federal government needs more money when reports like these are common:
“as of late 2011 the Defense department supply chain had amassed $9.2 billion worth of excess inventory on hand and had already ordered $523 million worth of inventory which was purchased but likely unnecessary”.
“Defense Department inspector generals had uncovered “billions and billions of dollars that are unaccounted for. Corruption, fraud, waste, abuse, it really is quite astounding.”
And this is just the Pentagon!
I’m sure any kid whose ever run a lemonade stand could mange to cut a meager $85 billion from a $3.6 TRILLION budget. If Obama and the bureaucrats running these federal agencies can’t, they should be fired!
To bad that money could not go to the people in need what a wicked world , and corruption runs deep in the government but then its only the peoples money they play with and sheep dont usually mind they just do as they are told, we are all in a dictatorship but most are to blind to see they just do as they are told
Save us Obi Wan Obama, your our only hope.
Cut Pentagon's budget to pre 9/11 level - that is a full 50% reduction of the current INSANITY spending
Oh my, a government department that has a problem buying too much stuff and wasting money left and right? If this sort of thing is common across all departments, I'm pretty sure cutting spending shouldn't be a problem. Clean up the waste and fraud, and I would bet we could get rid of our national debt, or at least stop taking on 1 trillion or more in debt every year. We need a real leader in Washington who can fix this country. Obama is not the man who will fix this country.
We need to get back to a time when the people took care of themselves. Waiting for the government to give me everything I need and feel "entitled" to is not going to make this country great again. It is time we create our future by hard work, instead of by voting it into existence.
Having run multimillion dollar budgets for many years, it is easy to say cut, cut, cut. That there is some waste that can be eliminated. But, it's not quite that easy. Cuts of even 5% have consequences. Being a big support of a strong defense (look at history and it will tell you, having a strong defense keeps the USA out of wars.) Having said that, I agree we need to reign in defense spending. When the inventory is expanding and you don't know what you have, then there is a problem that hasn't been addressed. And while the Pentagon orders more rockets than anyone else, getting spending under control is not Rocket Science.
And Ms. Piggy, check it out, your so called Military Industrial complex you deride supplies quite a few jobs across the country as well as providing civilian applications of their research. GPS comes to mind. You're Garman street map for your car is a GPS application that was a benefit of the military.
Russia is a bigger country than US, faces much greater threats, yet is spends on defense less that 5% of what US spends. And nobody will mess with them anyway.
US 'defense' spending is the biggest SCAM ever invented, funneling billions of dollars every day into pockets of Washington insiders running various defense contracts.
Good thing your grammar isn't our only hope.
cut spending, cut spending... meanwhile this administration has been spending us into the ground! Yeah, let's cut spending in other areas so we can increase it for more wars (e.g. Niger) and affording our illegal friends from mehico to have better lives.
National debt today: $16.584 trillion and growing!
Fund the invasions of oil-rich countries with Bush and Cheney money, not ours.
"The GAO said that the Defense Department “is one of the few federal entities that cannot accurately account for its spending or assets.” The report added, “Without accurate, timely, and useful financial information, DOD is severely hampered in making sound decisions affecting its operations.” "
I'm sure the Pentagon will be just fine with the cuts. With the end of the war coming soon, that alone would save enough to offset the cuts.
Let the 'sequester cuts' begin.
The federal government increased spending by $535 Billion in 2009 alone (+18% over 2008), largely from Obama's 'stimulus bill', and has maintained that bloated rate of spending for the last 4 years. I'm sure that the miniscule $60 Billion cut for 2013, which amounts to only about 1.6% of the estimated $3.8 Trillion in spending for 2013, is not that big a deal.
PS - Obama should have gotten the 'Best Actor' Oscar for his role in "The Sky is Falling".
Yet we have radical Republicans defending the military spending trillions. In fact, the Republicans say defense cuts are the only cuts that will really hurt. Hey, I'm all for a top-notch military but Republicans defend the military as sacred, never to be criticized for anything. They call you unpatriotic if you even question anything the military does.
We have got to get Republicans out of office, and soon. Otherwise, they will take the middle class down just to pad their own pockets.
Not very good Common Sense. Republicans AND Democrats voted for the war. Just as Republicans and Democrats have continued to fund the Afghanistan War. It's a joint effort.
And before you go off saying Bush started the Afghanistan War, President Obama, as Commander in Chief could have pulled the troops out the first day he took office in 2009, yet he didn't. There was a reason he didn't. Why not ask him.
You lying con man/woman, your full of crap. What about this Afghanistan War under Obama pig?, I thought I voted to stop that war immediately, instead this warmonger Obama will add 6 more years to it maybe more before he packs it in, killing thousands of our finest, and it won't mean a hill of beans when it's over, you can't save Muslims from themselves. How about Clinton's war in Bosnia pig?, forget about that one eh??? You liberal liars I'm sick of. You just make up things as you go along for your partisan war, when most people like me live in the middle of your "partisan bickering". WMD's the ones the vast majority of Democrats believed in, you mean those WMD's? Both parties SUCK!!!
thinkaboutit, right on!!
Just remember, it was Obama's idea for sequestration cuts for the military.
Rush says that the democrat party is the main problem. So, that's a fact. Nuff said!
The Pro-Growth SequesterNo, it's not Armageddon.
The Obama administration is whipping up hysteria over the sequester budget cuts and their impact on the economy, the military, first providers, and so forth and so on. Armageddon.
But if you climb into the CBO numbers for 2013, you see a much lighter and easier picture than all the worst-case scenarios being conjured up by the administration.
For example, the $85 billion so-called spending cut is actually budget authority, not budget outlays.
According to the CBO, budget outlays will come down by $44 billion, or one quarter of 1 percent of GDP. (GDP is $15.8 trillion.)
What's more, that $44 billion outlay reduction is only 1.25% of the $3.6 trillion government budget. So the actual outlay reduction is only half the budget-authority savings.
The rest of it will spend out in the years ahead — that is, if Congress doesn't tamper with it.
And please remember that these so-called cuts come off a rising budget baseline in most cases. So the sequester would slow the growth of spending.
They're not real cuts in the level of spending. (Not that a level reduction is a bad idea.)
Sky is falling ,sky is falling!!!!!!
Looking at the sequester in this light, it's clear that it won't result in economic Armageddon. In fact, I'll make the case that any spending relief is actually pro-growth.
That's right. When the government spending share of GDP declines, so does the true tax burden on the economy.
As a result, more resources are left in the free-market private sector, which will promote real growth.
However in order to create the is Obmargedon this Government like Cuba will start letting go non violent detainees. To create chaos in our cities. Will see planes landing in backyards because won't be enough traffic controllers to control the landing in the airports, by in the meantime we will have the administration waisting money in non necessary programs, travels, meetings, vehicles and on and on.
Maybe it's time to accept that the F-35 and F-22 weren't the best expenditure of money. Maybe it's time to put the Sears weapon catalog down and analyze the type of conflicts that are going on today.
Perhaps it's also time to accept that our enemies of the last decade typically aren't in planes or even tanks. I don't think we need an F-22 to take out the village sheep herder.
I love all the comments above. Many have the same theme. I've been writing it for years and never saw so many sympathetic comments before. This is great. Folks are beginning to wake up to the warning Ike gave of the Mil Ind Complex - 60 years late for many ! Bush/Cheney/Wolfowitz/Rumsfeld started the Iraqi war for reasons unrelated to WMD. Cheney is in it for his Mil Industry Pals to help them get filthy stinkin rich and they have. Bush was a puppet Cheney controlled. The O-6's up through flag ranks in the Pentagon are way past being soldiers and sailors. They are polytissiuns first and foremost - that's how they achieve their lofty rank. One General warned against going into Iraq and was promptly cashiered leaving nothing but yesmen to take orders from Cheney/Rumsfeld. Note recently the Generals caught and or resigning before they get exposed because they switched from working on military business to dabbling in women, entertainment and politics. They should have stuck to weapons and strategy. They've turned into frat party boyz. Now Panetta wants to give medals to computer operators that outrank battlefield bravery. No Generals have objected. They are all yesmen. Unless these people are brought under control they will destroy the US through their stupidity. Huge military spending at our level is not a defense strategy nor is it economic stimulus. It is simply destructive. They crossed the thresh hold of "wise spending" careers ago !! This is the last chance to rein them in before they bring down the US through fraud, waste and abuse and making enemies throughout the world.
Talk about getting off track with a post, Mr. Curry I'd really like to see your list of sources for the information in your article. I suspect some exist only in your head, the bloated "Defense Budget" has more checks and balances than any private corporation, and the GAO is just trying to keep themselves from being audited. I love the various perspectives, it's encouraging to know we have this many smart people in the country.
The Pentagon budget is so bloated because of politics. Anytime anyone even hints at cutting defense, the Republican slam that person as being "weak on defense" or worse. Follow the money - the contractors who get billions for defense pay scads of cash to politicians to make sure they keep their cushy contracts. We could double the defense budget next year, even if there were no wars or threats of wars, and when someone suggests trimming that back by 10%, the hysteria of being "weak on defense" rises again. It's completely ridiculous.
Let's be clear, no matter how anti-war or liberal anyone is, we all want a strong defense. No one wants America to be weak on defense. But we have all we need and billions more. There is no sane reason why defense has to be treated like something sacred that cannot be touched, cannot be audited, cannot be held accountable. It's not sacred for national security reasons. It's sacred because greedy contractors and politicians created the sacredness to protect their own interests.
Here's another money pit: whenever the CIA wants to run an operation they deem too expensive to put on their own tab, they outsource it - to the military budget! Somebody needs to go in there with a machete and cut the undergrowth.
Yes, Thinkaboutit, both Republicans and Democrats who vote for the continued invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq benefit from the USA's occupation of these countries through the "friends and family" game of stock ownership in oil companies.
makes me wonder:
The American people have knowledge there is a problem, express their dissatisfaction, but take no action.
Your comment is the most honest.
Leave it to someone to question the GAO, our last bastion of hope to deal with the corrupted system we have.
What, Granpas, you think the GAO is stealing too many pencils while our "Defense Budget has more checks and balances than any private corporation", while they're spending $600 for a hammer and toilet seat cover? Let's see YOUR sources.
Please, Granpa, tell us you're joking........
The $600 listed as a hammer is actually spent on things you, I and our enemies don't need to know about !
Agenda21, you must work as an acquisition analyst for CACI.
No accountability throughout government, starting with the POTUS.
We are now seeing and experiencing the results.
Funny how libs forget that the initial belief that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and a military intervention may be necessary came from the Clinton administration and was voted on by people like Biden. Also, libs have gotten us involved in more wars than conservatives, and Obama has invaded other countries while president. The media just doesnt bash him for it since they are too busy sucking him off.
My disdain and mistrust lies in all politicians, but actions are far more powerful and definitive than beliefs or thoughts.
Washington's DC Politicians and their prorities are so very out of whack that we are left out in the cold.
Let's see they would cut our National Defense yet favor Brain Research. Wow what will happen to Taking care of our Vets who come home torn, disabled mentally and physically has been placed on the back burner.
We have politicans whpo support Technically Engineered seeds filled with poisons not meant for human comsumption over quality of life. We have politicians who invested and profitted from Fracking while ignoring the dangers to people an dour dire water supply.
And we have politicans who refuse to protect women other than their own. Yet they spend, and spend and spend caring nothing of the consequences from their spenditures!
And now after all that spending they want to cut budgets? I say the first cut should be to all the ebennies and entitlements that Congrss receives including: Payments over receses, free use of governmental planes and flights, free food and beverages---some that come quite pricey, FREE HEALTH CARE FOR THEM AND THIER FAMILIES/Including extended Family Members, and cut thier bonuses from corps while in office.
One of the best cuts in budget would be to make all political representatives or all members of Congress a Voluntary position over that of a paid one. Keep in mind that these people do go on recess/vaca much more than they actually work!
A couple of comments might be appropriate here. First of all, look to procurement. One of the biggest issues is the revolving door of defense procurement. It's not their current jobs they are looking to keep, its their future positions with the Defense Contractors they are doing "We the People's" business with. End no-bid contracts except for true "sole source" contracts...make the procurement specialist prove a company is a "sole source" or it goes out to bid. End cost-overrun allowance. You provide a service or product on-time...on target or your company eats the loss...no exceptions beyond material supply issues. Send BRAC on an Asian/European roadtrip. Why are we still defending Germany from the Soviets?
50% budget cut means that Pentagon will have to start buying $500 flashlights as opposed to $1000 flashlights, and use US soldiers to do the job now done by the $400,000 a year mercenaries. The world is coming to an end... yes, but only for the m-f war profiteers...
Max^108
It is time to give Combat Service Support back to the military. Once upon a time we had food service, transportation, construction and numerous other services necessary for sustained military operations organic to the military. If I have a forward unit pinned down, running low in ammunition...I don't want to argue with a contractor about safe roads. I want to order the Specialist to jump in the duce and get his ass forward.
PJ-1795048
In Bush's first term he started two wars, in Obama's first term he ended two (sort of) and yet, somehow, he managed to INCREASE "defense" spending almost as much as Bush did in his first. Obviously it is not just the "neocons" who are the problem. In fact the biggest "con" that results in this mess is the con used to fool people like you into believing all of the problems in our country are created by the "other guys". Both parties do a wonderful job of conning their sheep into believing this fallacy. Wake the @!$%# up!!! Clean out your own damn party since you'd never vote for anyone in the other party anyway. If the sheep in both parties would do this our country would be a much better place!
Yes...there is waste in the DoD...however, there are worst liberties taken in State alone. Overseas housing for "Staties" is most outrageously pretensive, rather than austere to display frugality...not cheapness, just value for money spent. We might have been the richest nation in the world, but our overseas expenditures are ridiculous. How many of our "long time residences" have we paid for years over by now?
DoD needs to cut its inventory, but not what they "need" to have as true WRM(War Reserve Material). Many WRM items can be dual use rather than kept in storage "just in case". However, the procurement folks need to be experts in the items they are responsible for procuring...too many "bean counters" have no idea what they are buying, let alone if it's really what the requester is looking for...too often the procurers write material requirements that DO result in $!K hammers or toilets, etc. This had been started to be changed about 25 years ago, but I guess it was to expensive to have a "knowledgeable" person write a procurement document.
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling..."
let me repeat in case you didn't Obama and friends...
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling..."
The sequester is 2.3% of the projected fed spend in 2013... The fed spend is up 1.8% from 2012 even with the sequester... This is chump change and Obama and friends are treating you like chumps if you are believing them...
StoptheCannibals-2908428
While the democrats talk a good game but spend just as much on "defense". Only a blind puppet would think that is any better. Or have you somehow failed to notice the massive increases in "defense" spending even though the wars are ending (sort of)?? Have you failed to notice how the current POTUS is sending troops to places even GWB didn't think of?? Christ, he just sent Marines to @!$%#ing Australia, can't the Australians defend themselves?? And who exactly is whining about the "nightmares" these cuts are supposedly going to create?? Perhaps if you pulled your head out of your ass you'd realize that it is the dems every bit as much as the republicans! Leon Panetta isn't a friggin republican now is he?
@Ol_Doc - yes, the 'outsourcing' is nothing but a huge scam and borderline treason. We now have private contractors guarding top secret US military sites, as well as providing security detail to top brass when they come to visit troops in Afghanistan or Iraq. WTF? No wonder we pi$$ away almost a trillion dollars on defense each year and still can't win any of those foreign interventions. What a SCAM...
Oh Pig get a life. Grabted Bush had done much but don't act like the libs/dems have done nothing. Well they have done nothing to really help the US but that's something else.
We had Libya, Somalia, Bosnia and others. While they may not have been "full blown wars" they still cost a fortune. Think of Libya alone atleast maybe 170 plus Tomahawks, an aircraft, I'm sure boots on the ground, all the MOABs and other arms supplied to the "Rebels"(terrorists). Oh yeah and Clinton did such an awesome job with the Battle of Mogadishu. Now then we have the "promises" from Omar/I mean Oblameya to get us out of Iraq and Afgahn. Well Iraq was already a done deal when he took office so that was easy. But with Afgahn he actually got us more involved and now has actually increased the terrorists stronghold around the middle east due to his droning and tomahawk killings of innocent civilians in countries we are not even at war with.
Now lets not even get started on a budget as he has not ever produced one.
Stopthecannibals
Since 2006 we have had 4 years of democratic imperial presidency, 9 years of democratic controlled Senate and 6 years of democratic controlled House. Nice try. Want to guess how much the deficit was increased since the democrats gained control?
Give us one program that the democrats have cut? Just one! I still have nightmares of seeing Pelosi and Reid nightly on the news. We haven't had a budget come out of the Senate since the Imperial Presidency began. Now who has to go?
Your comments just support that educational system in this country is in the garbage can.
@Backcountry - I think it makes a nice propaganda to say both parties are the same. Well that's not true. Just compare Nixon Reagon Bush Sr / Jr vs Clinton Kennedy Obama and Carter. The first camp pretty much unabashedly increased military spending and started wars that was not necessary. The second camp pretty much cleaned up the mess left behind by the first. Obama can't influence military spending immediately it takes time and poltical capital to slow it down. Military programs are very long term in nature and once funded very hard to kill. On the other hand it is so easy to frenzy people around national security and increase military spending.
So while what you say is not completely untrue, I think it would be really naive to fully believe that.
Americans are pathetic.
They all know the DOD is opaque, leaderless, directionless and hyperinflated. They all know about the failures of 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan. They all know we don't invest but squander. They all complain about deficits and debt but refuse to DEMAND audit, accountability, or an end to the MIC-congress collusion.
They prefer division and inaction to ending the DOD farce forever by:
Cutting DOD budget by 50 (real)%.
Ending the bloated ineffective F35.
Ceasing all shipbuilding until the budget is balanced.
Forbidding the lobbying activities of the MIC.
No...they prefer (as in healthcare) outspending the entire world so we can facetiously claim to be "Number 1", while China squanders less on "defense" and "healthcare" and eats our lunch daily.
Pathetic.
common: here's just a few programs Obama has cut:
President Obama has proposed and signed into law the elimination of 77 government programs and cut another 52 programs, saving more than $30 billion annually. This includes taking a hard look at areas he thinks are very important to see what programs are not working, duplicative or no longer needed—which is why the Administration has eliminated 16 programs in the Department of Education, 10 programs at Health and Human Services, and 4 programs at the Department of Labor.
Is that enough or do you want the cuts in entitlements too?
Ok...I didn't realize all those defense contractors were replacing war losses free of charge!
Wake up dipstick! You fight 2 wars, one for over 10 years you either replace the combat losses or fight the next war with sticks and stones!
Which 6 years was it the Democrats controlled the House since 2006? ...not in this dimension. By the way, the republicans controlled the House for the previous 17 years, and the previous 8 years we had a republican "Unitary Executive" president...so what's your point?
Stopthecannibals, lie much pal? pathological I'd say.... like the 5.8 trillion he's added to the debt in his first 4 years is just fairy dust, your pathetic.
The US Military budget has been completely out of control for nearly 100 years, Every since the military contracts for WWI showed how much money was to be made by private corporations supplying them with weapons, food,,,,,,,Toilet seats and Caskets for kids. Our military budgets alone is more than 60% of the worlds total income combined.
Nice made up fact. In reality, the military budget is only 14% of the US government's spending. Not even close to 60% of the US total income, let alone the world's income.
12% is Obama welfare pretty soon it will out spend the pentagon, now that's pathetic
He didn't make up that fact he read it. He wrote it down, read it, and he believes everything he reads. We can add gross exaggeration to blame, excuses, and the race card. As slowly but surely we are defining liberals. A good liberal bumper sticker would read, the buck never stops here.
60% is spent on senior welfare like those old white teabaggers...just sayin'
Where is Fiesty Redhead. She gets notified as soon as any article is pending and gets to post for the democrats/msnbc before anyone else. I thought she would be at the top of this newsvine chain as well?
This is the 21st century and no matter how much the US spends on defense, China is going to be the #1 military power because they have the resources, economy, and have stolen all the technology required to catch up. Anything they have not stolen we have sold to them.
As an independent I believe in small Fed government, as was the case prior to WWII and how this country was founded. I believe that 70% of the Fed taxes paid should go to roads, infrastructure and the military. There should be absolutely no pensions paid for any government job outside military service. Sorry, Europe killed itself during WWI and WWII and handed the 20th century to America. We in America screwed up and spent ourselves to oblivion playing by becoming a debt and consumer based economy while play world policeman. Now this is a world economy and we are in no position to play with a full deck. China will probably not make this mistake, because they are a dictatorship and can stay the course and stick to a long term plan without everyone mucking it up.
Glen it sure looks like you are stalking feisty. What does she have to do with this? She only posts her opinion ..just like you.Time to get a life and stop trolling
Yeah, and back in the late 80's and early 90's the same was being said about Japan and look at them now. South Korea was a burgeoning less than 15 years ago and now they are fighting for their place in the world economy. Funny thing about prosperity is people demand more consumer goods, better pay, better living conditions, or they won't work. China is already seeing other countries eat into their slice of the pie. It's the same all over the globe. What keeps nations on top is their research and development and whether you like it or not, a strong military keeps R & D going strong.
Libs dont realize that if you completely cut all military spending and tax the richest people at 50%, we would still be in a huge deficit every single year. Math is the enemy of liberals. It doesnt agree with their fantasy.
IN consideration that Our Government consistently fails, how about if we stopped trying to take care of other countries when we cannot even take care of our own
Liberals alone are not responsible for budget overspend. Republicans may now have taken up the call on slashing the budget and eliminating the deficit, but that is only because it can currently differentiate them from the Dems. It is under Reagan and Bush Jr. both that deficits increased drastically.
Both parties are responsible for the overbloated Defense budget because many states that have either defense contractors or military bases will fight tooth and nail to keep things as they are, regardless of how much they then turn around and claim to want to slash spending and what party they are from.
As "ffffffuuuuu" said above...this is a capitalist society...and in the end it is capitalists who rule our government, not us. Defense contractors have very powerful lobbyists that keep the gravy train going.
No they will be number 1 because they don't throw the money away to private companies and do/get 10 times as much for the money spent. Now granted they pay the workers much less but I would bet there is much less waste. Nevermind they don't get themselves involved evrywhere possible just so they can keep up with the orders for arms/rockets/missles etc. Do you think China is paying a few hundred thousand a year for 1(one) contractor when the US has hundreds of thousands of them.
1. Enact the same tax rates we had in 1953.
2. Eliminate all no-bid contracts excepting true "sole-source" providers.
3. Eliminate all DOD allowed cost overruns. A corporation bids on a contract they come in on-time, on-target or they eat the loss.
4. Allow Medicare to solicit bids from pharmaceutical companies just like the VA does.
5. Remove all farm and oil subsidies, support American farmers with tariffs where necessary.
Probably won't get us there...but it's a start.
Most government departmental budgets are fat laden...the pentagon budget is grossly obese...cut that mother, then cut it some more!
I remember at the end of our fiscal year my old unit would spend all it could, on unnecessary sh!t, so we could get a big budget in the future. We should cut Military Spending by another 40% since all units probably still do this.
Carl, that is the biggest problem with government budgeting. The idea at the end of the fiscal year is to spend the remaining amount in your budget. That does need to be changed.
Carl I remember exactly the same thing. The system was designed when a "computer" was a guy who could add and subtract quickly. It was designed to make it easier on clerks so they wouldn't have to carry over accounts. That shouldn't be a problem now. If a unit doesn't need to spend the money it should be carried over to the next fiscal year as a contingency fund (emergency purchase). If it's still on hand the following year...return it to the general fund. This isn't rocket science, all agencies could to this.
I find it funny that we have to cut cost and the only way our government can do it is to lay off people that I bet make less than 33k a year. How many will get a raise by laying off their employees?
all of them
When the "government" is the last major employer left in the nation ... that is unsustainable, inexcusable and an indication the federal government is far to large. You can almost understand hwo the military can get out bloated, defense is a legitimate federal government function, but the rest of the bureaucracy of the welfare state is waste. Just who is profitting, the strength of America since the Revolutionary War has been manufacturing and with clintons "new Economy" the Republic is unable to meet its own defense needs, It is almost back to those same dark days when the Nation is reliant on the whims of foreign nations and subject to blockades.
Constitutionally speaking it is the responsibility of the Government to DEFEND this Nation......not to BUY "obamaphones" and give away 99 weeks of unemployment......and so on, and so on...... and............
Save us Obi Wan Obama, your our only hope.
who pays your parents healthcare costs? Hint not you or them...they are are the obiwonscum sucking the life out of our nation...
Excuse me, Rick in the Forest---but my parents paid their own insurance and my dad worked 80 hours a week to do so.
Now please find a tree in that forest to lean upon, you will need it!
Confussed-1578043
That's not the only way they can do it, it's just the way that creates the most political capital. Putting people out of work allows the politicians to point their fingers at the other side while they say "See what they did? Better vote for us next time"
Wrong. It is an indication that the economy in general and the private sector employers specifically have failed miserably! When you "shrink" government by reducing the number of government workers you reduce both the taxable income and the number of consumers. If you keep reducing taxable income you will never be able to cut enough spending to cut the deficit. If you reduce the number of consumers you destroy demand and thereby destroy the private sector of the economy. When the private sector is done...we are done.
The DOD budget needs to be cut big time but not an across the board cut like this. It must be trimmed back 30 to 40 percent over the next 2 to 8 years with smart well thought out cuts and elimination of programs.
This is the 21st century and no matter how much the US spends on defense, China is going to be the #1 military power because they have the resources, economy, and have stolen all the technology required to catch up. Anything they have not stolen we have sold to them.
As an independent I believe in small Fed government, as was the case prior to WWII and how this country was founded. I believe that 70% of the Fed taxes paid should go to roads, infrastructure and the military. There should be absolutely no pensions paid for any government job outside military service. Sorry, Europe killed itself during WWI and WWII and handed the 20th century to America. We in America screwed up and spent ourselves to oblivion playing by becoming a debt and consumer based economy while play world policeman. Now this is a world economy and we are in no position to play with a full deck. China will probably not make this mistake, because they are a dictatorship and can stay the course and stick to a long term plan without everyone mucking it up.
markinbecker: Sadly, our economy relies on the defense budget. You can't just slash, slash, slash unless you have people trained in other fields. The USA has become reliant on the government for jobs moreso than welfare. Perhaps this is a corporate welfare. The first group to be slashed should be Haliburton. Why should we be paying Haliburton and other private security groups 100x the money we pay our troops for the same jobs? Get rid of them, save a billion or two a year.
Soooo they shouldn't have a problem with sequester if they are so bloated.
So we start here with the "scare-quester", the "bloated" Pentagon, so when do we reduce the "bloat" of BIG government? How about starting by "auditing" where Obama's "stimulus" went?
How about we audit where the $6.6 billion Bush "misplaced" in Iraq? That's quite a few pallets...they have to be somewhere...
I remember when Jimmy Carter tried to cut the fat out of the military, and Ronald RAY-GUN campaigned on restoring the military because that (commie) Carter had sought to end the abuse and fraud in the military. RAY-GUN so much STARWARS spending that it has never ever ended.
Just imagine if all that money had been put into education for the people of this country.
Yes I remember those days as well. A military that was unable to fly two helicopters in the middle of a desert without colliding, demoralizedand poorly trained. An economy with runaway inflation and a "recession" second only to clintons "new economy". Then reagan with a era of stabilised monetray system, revitalised economy, and properly trained and sense of purpose and pride again. Every time a certain party gets the reins its a disaster for the defense of the Republic and the economy.
John do you know we spend more that most of the industrialized Nations on education?
There is a place to look for BLOAT and do some "auditing" the Department of Education.........hmmmmmm.
Which inevitably lead to the S&L collapse in 1987 and threw us into a recession with massive budget deficits. I also remember the entire 1970s when Nixon and Ford oversaw an entire decade of inflation and high unemployment. Every time the republican party is in charge of the economy it is a train wreck.
Mark ... thats odd. The only time in my career I have ever been out out of work was the Carter recession and now as a result of clintons "Great Depression pt.2". This one looks like it will never end.
Then get a job you lazy slob and stop blaming others for your miserable employment history.
markinbecker,
Ignoring your comment to Dennis, back to your earlier post. So Carter didn't have anything to do with high inflation and unemployment? The way I remember it was that it was Reagan's policies that got us out of most of the mess left by Carter. The only one he didn't was the housing mess we are in now...
Perhaps your too young to remember that the United States was in a recession throughout the entire 1970s, not just when Carter was elected. There was also massive inflation. Carter inherited the recession. Reagan cut taxes, declared war on the middle class, tried to destroy unions and deregulated. There was a very short term gain and then he had to raise taxes 17 times between 1982 - 1987. In October 1987 the S&l collapsed due to de-regulation and threw us into a recession. The federal government bailed out the S&Ls to the tune of 30 billion dollars. When Reagan left office we were running massive deficits. These deficits were the downfall of Bush 41.
I am not to young to remember, and I remember all of the mistakes Carter did. I also remember which party caused our problems during that time frame.
Mark ... lazy slob huh ....... you must be one ignorant fool of the left. For over 40 years beginning at age 16 I supported myself, raised a family, had property and a new house 4 years from being paid off, airplane and cars, savings and retirement funds ..... all gone in clintons "new economy" and The Great Recession pt2. I never expected or wanted a thing from the Federal government except to be left alone. Paid for my own college education, worked two and three jobs in order to accomplish my life goals. It didnt matter whether those jobs were as a janitor in a donut shop or in management of an international corporation ....... I never went a day without a job/jobs. Guess what ignorant parrot, there are no longer any jobs to be had. A virtual open border to absorb excess 3rd world populations, ceding wealth producing middle-class supporting manufacturing in order to redistribute wealth from developed world to 3rd world, a bloated and suicidal welfare state and the 3rd generation of workforce since clinton that has no clue what a healthy economy even looks like. Grow up, do some research in history, economics, social science, political science THEN you just might have something of value to offer this discussion.
Jimmy Carter also started the Department of Energy. Which is just more waste Obama and Democrats can find no reason to cut.
Dennis: Yadda Yadda Yadda. If you lost all of your money and property it was your fault. Quit blaming others. I too have been working since I was 15 in a car wash, house painter, janitor, bar tender, truck driver, lawyer. I have never been unemployed. I don't sit around and blame others. Man up.
Dennis kiss my azz. I am a lot older than you and Clinton was probably the best president in my lifetime. Unfortunately he had a problem with his zipper. The Pentagon isn't the only agency that is bloated. The "Great Society" well meaning program but again a tremendous waste. People here say spend it on education but there has been tremendous waste there also. Defined pension plans are unsustainable and all teachers, federal employees, city, state and county need to be moved away from them. There will no longer be bloated federal agencies when the American people quit being stupid. The war on drugs, DEA, war on terrror, war on poverty etc etc is just another way the govt. scares its population so they can spend and spend some more. I have voted for Obama twice now or more accurately voted against the hate in the Republican Party but it disgusts me his lack of leadership and fear mongering. As for my work history, bricklayer, peace corp, rancher, CPA and I do pay a lot of taxes.
John from Jacksonville Fl
So you're both bitching about government waste AND advocating for it. As if that makes any sense whatsoever. We already spend more than any other nation in the world on "education" and that money has bought us one of the finest bureaucracies you can imagine. Too bad it hasn't done jack @!$%# for our kids.
It is about time that the Republican stronghold of corruption and waste is finally getting just a little scrutiny. The fight against Hagel was not about Hagel. It was about anyone except the Republican insiders even seeing what corruption is rampart at the Pentagon.
But BOB as an "uninformed" member of the new liberal base, you probably do dot have the same sense of "curiosity" of "rampart"......rampant corruption in Obama's "bloated" Government, like CZARS, or maybe the fact that Obama is STILL accepting "campaign contributions" and "campaign " websites are still open.......even though the "campaign" is supposed to have ended.......LAST YEAR?
Those moneys are being used to campaign for policy, not politics.
OOOOOOHHHH okay then that's different....so glad you "cleared" that up...campaign for policy.....sounds "above board" to me...............NOT! ....
And this started.....and became "normal".........????????
And of course there is a CLEAR and defined difference in Obama policy VS politics...............right.
Finally??? With Carter the Re[ublic was left with a poorly supplied, poorly trained, ineffective military. Under clinton the Republic lost irreplacable facilities, demoralised military so reduced in size that after the murder of 3,000 civilians on American soil it had to rely on National guard and civilian mercenaries at greater expense and questionable activities. Since WW2 the European Nanny-States have been able to reduce their militaries by relying on the Amrican taxpayer to pay for their legitimate military needs, I suppose to fund the U.S. nanny-state we will cede that function to the Chinese? That should turn out well dont you think?
Gee, didn't Romney want to increase the military's budget by another 10% if he had won the election? I wonder who he worked for?
Dennis-387683
Sounds like a pretty damn good plan to me! Lets just see how quickly those European countries expand their own military budgets when they don't have the US to pick up the tab.
Yet another issue making the argument for smaller federal government. Hopefully there will paring of the DOD. Then attention must paid to the larger elements of federal budget; pensions & healthcare.
I find it funny how everyone who always for smaller government refuses to touch military spending.
Nothing funny about it, defense is one of the few legitimate functions of a federal government. Just as everything a government does it needs to be monitored for corruption but it also needs to be kept effective. You want to effectively cut waste then be just as diligent to the social welfare bureaucracy: it has twice the annual budget of the defense department, is not a legitimate function of the federal government and exists for the sole purpose of expanding itself.
No the Defense budget is out of control and must be cut by at least 40% over the next several years. Stop the middle east wars is a big step in cutting the military. Next we cut wasteful programs nobody wants. Eisenhower warned of the over spending on military 55 years ago. He was right.
And give fighter jets to the Muslim Brotherhood...............help "even the playing field" for your Muslim "friends".
Maybe it has to do with the fact that if you completely cut out military spending, we would still be running a deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
Advice to liberals. Take a math, econ, and stats class, then come back to look at the situation. You will see how ignorant you sound.
Domewars
Everyone?? Clearly you don't know any libertarians.
markinbecker
You guys need to stop quoting Eisenhower since you seem to have no clue what his warning was about. Eisenhower was specifically concerned that "defense" would top 50% of government spending. That was his warning about the "military industrial complex". Today it is at less than 20%. Eisenhower would have little or no problem with todays level of military spending. Funny how things look different when you put them in context.
Dennis, the Defense Budget is 25% of GDP. I think that is way too much money. Explain why we spend so much money in the quest to murder people and you are all for it but helping out your fellow human being is somehow sacriligious . Dennis, its all about who has the biggest balls. It's been a pissing contest since the beginning of time and it has been a bunch of little boys that always start the crap Too bad EGO doesn't do anything for anyone but the people that need their Ego stroked. Its just too bad the people that are all about war don't spend any time engaged in it, after all, its all about the money and you cant spend that money if your dead, so you get other people to die for you. Spend freely Dennis, spend freely!!!
SEQUESTER, SEQUESTER, its our friend! Do it this year and do it next year, then do it again! If this is what it takes to reduce government that is fine with me. Now it is pain for the government and their employees. It is time they fetl what the rest of us have for about 10+ years.
Attacking the wrong target ... the welfare system has twice the annual budget of the defense department.
No it doesn't. The only part of the federal government with a bigger budget than Defense is social security and medicare.
Mark .... yes the mandatory federal spending social welfare programs has twice the annual budget of the defense department. And social security and medicare is part of that mandatory spending. You want effective action to rein in corruption start looking at that area. How much of the funds are spent for the intended purpose? how bloated and ineffective is the bureaucracy? Hpow raped of funds are the programs themselves? The military needs monitoring, less so since clinton gutted it, but the monster of todays world is the nanny-state which exists solely to expand itself.
Your full of shiit Dennis. Welfare is a different part of the budget from SS and medicare.
Mark ... do you ever at any time under any conditions use your ears/eyes and two working brain cells at the same time? Social Security and medicare are part of the Mandatory Federal Spending social welfare programs, that includes many other welfare programs that have become entrenched bureaucraciesthat have little purpose other than expansion. The two programs have from the beginning been ponzi schemes relying on a given number of workers to pay for todays users. Those workers dont exist today because there are no jobs. The program funds themselves have been diverted from the original purposes for welfare programs never intended. When 45% of the workforce is either unemployed or underemployed how long do you expect the situation to continue before total collapse? THINK.
Blind Mike- (aptly named).... I'll bet that as a Federal Civil Service employee I make less than you do. And I've been doing it for 27 years. My pay has been frozen for the past 3 years- and we just got another year tacked onto that. And now, we are being asked to take a 20% paycut? My job?? I maintain Air Traffic Control systems- and teach young sailors to do the same thing- and to do it SAFELY. My job not important??? Do you like plane crashes??? I make less than $70K/year. How about all these wealthy people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year???
Yes, there are places that waste can be cut... and should be cut. By not buying weapons systems that the military doesn't even want- yet the politicians FORCE them upon the military to benefit the defense contractors in their home district. Whose employees make a lot more than I do. Or perhaps quit giving billions of dollars in foreign aid to countries whose governments are so openly corrupt it's insane?? Or our Bush family- whose wars started on cooked intelligence cost this country BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars on cooked intelligence???? Yes, there's waste to be trimmed... but not on the backs of hard working, dedicated employees who make less than many people think we do.
Social Security??? I've worked over 50 years to pay for my benefits. Cut them??? Why not raise the maximum contribution limit from its current $113K/limit to whatever you want to set it at? Why do the poor AGAIN bear the brunt, paying S/S on their entire income, while the wealthy only pay on a small portion of their income??? You need to learn the impact of what you are saying before you open your mouth.
Same story at the Dept of Transportation. Obama has his supporters of big government out telling the masses the sky will fall if they lose 2% of their budget. If they can't find a way to manage on 2% less, they should be fired.
Since Obama took office the number of government employees has been REDUCED EVERY YEAR so stop with your BS and look up the FACTS. Dems work with the budgets.
CLINTON'S last four years were SURPLUSES and uses to PAY down the debt for the first time in American history!! THEN along came DUBYA who blew away the 2000 surplus after being in office for ONE WEEK!!! With his first "tax break" DUBYA gave $1.3 TRILLION back to the American people that should have been used for debt repayment, but that's not how Republicans operate. Then a war on Iraq because of "WMD" which we all know was BS!! And, DUBYA had the audacity to appear on an aircraft carrier in 2003 with a banner stating "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" - tax breaks tilted for the wealthy was his mission and while declaring a second war on Afghanistan DUBYA throw even HUGER tax breaks towards the wealthiest Americans. So THAT'S your idea of fiscally conservative???? In 2011, 93% of the wealth generated in American went to the top 1%. Conserve a way of life for the elite few at the expense of the rest of us is all that conservatism is about and YOU ARE CLUELESS!
Harry....so your saying......"its Bush"s fault"....what a NOVEL idea.....genius shear genius.
Harry did you know that "poison gas and biological weapons" are also classified as WMD's?
LOOK IT UP and ask the Kurdish people.........or in your case when all else fails....spew mantra.
1.) There was never, could never be a clinton surplus ... just like his "new economy" it was a paper fantasy.
2.) That "tax cut for the rich" resulted in revenue increase from the higher tax brackets and reduced tax rates from the lower brackets .... which of those results would you like to change? Currently the higher 25% tax brackets account for over 87% of tax revenue and the remainder 75% of the tax base less than 13%, 45% of which account for zero, how would you suggest that be changed? Personally I would like to see the middle-class tax recreated and a healthy economy again, doesnt appear to be a priority with the Democratic Party Agenda.
3.) The nanny-state is borrowing unimaginable sum of money every 36 hours to waste on usless appeasement of the sheep, the current plan is print 30 billion new paper dollars every month .... how has that worked out in the past? When its a "fiscal cliff" to increase the deficit in order to borrow money to make the interest payment on money borrowed yesterday .... how do you see that working out? And the so called "tax win" of increased taxation of the "rich" ? If every single penny where to be used exlusively to pay down the deficit just think ... in 512 years it would be paid off!!!! Think that will happen in the Nanny-State? You really need to do some thinking.
Oh, so typical repuglican double-speak. Look up the numbers. Hard facts- Reagan left huge deficits, Clinton left surpluses, the Bush's squandered them and created such a defecit that we're struggling to recuperate from them and his wars.
In America, the rich have seen their wealth increase in the neighborhood of 11%, while the poor have lost 1% or so in the past couple of years. Those are the kind of facts your doublespeak doesn't solve. I make less than $70K/year, my pay has been frozen the past 3 years- and will be for another year- and because of our politicians to effectively do the job we elect AND PAY them to do I stand to lose TWENTY FREAKIN' PERCENT of my pay due to sequester. I do my job and take these hits- why should the politicians make a PENNY for NOT doing their jobs??
EISENHOWER warned of the military industrial complex and it has been built upon with each decade... Korea in the 50's, Viet Nam in the 60's/70's, Iran/Contra in the 80's and a BLANK CHECK from REAGAN to the pentagon to outspend the Russians. THAT is what destroyed them - BLOWING all their money on their military and after they collapsed in 1991 we went to war with Saddam over Kuwait for "Desert Storm" and then with 9/11 George "Dubya" Bush decided Suddam had WMDs and declared war on him and we had to get into Afghanistan. America is following the SAME formula for finanical ruin that the Soviets did... MASSIVE military buildup that we CANNOT afford!! 737 bases around the world for what??!! Why don't we DOWNSIZE the 2.2 MILLION employees paid by the American taxpayers and eliminate BORROWING for war in Afghanistan and divert savings from other reduction into paying our debt?? Why the hell do we keep all these military contractors rolling in dough while we are cutting back teachers, firefighters and cops? Let's get our priorities straight!! Get the American Jobs Act passed and MANY OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE JOB PROGRAMS FUNDED BY OUR GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD EMPLOY THOSE MILITARY PERSONNEL LET GO BY CUT BACKS. We can be constructive on all fronts.
That "military industrial complex" has been dead since clintons "new economy". The Republic of today no longer has the ability to supply itself in the name of "redistribution of wealth" from the developed world to the 3rd world. For the first time since the dark days of the Revolutionary War of Independence the Republic is hostage to the whims of foreign governments and supply blockades. The strength of America that won every conflict the Republic ever had, its manufacturing base, is gutted.
@Dennis ~ The Industrial Military Complex is a consortium of arms and transport suppliers and it's doin't JUST FINE! Those $100 BILLION INCREASES in the military budget for the last decade which don't even include other "defense" operations are draining our treasury and need to be consolidated and streamlined. THAT is where a LOT of WASTE and FRAUD takes place and we could be using those fund to benefit the American people with infrastructure IN AMERICA, schools, new sewage systems, roadways, etcetera and create millions of jobs directly with construction and indirectly with the domino effect of these beneficial projects including manufacturing which hasn't been gutted so much as tax incentived to near death! Change those tax loopholes! ENOUGH with nation building after we bomb them to pieces! How about just spending it HERE!!? That's what Hagel could possibly do.
Just asking. Why do we need troops in most of Europe? I thought the cold war was over.
The cold war is over. Now it is a constant struggle to contain the far more irrational enemy of the mideast. At least in the cold war the enemy was rational, with similar cultural constraints and scruples and reasonably predictable.
The cold war has been over for 24 years.
Dennis, you are right on the money...with one exception I don't think Mark has two brain cells. Sorry Mark you need to stop thinking and read what you are replying to.
I'm pretty damn sure that if the DOD were to eliminate wasteful spending they wouldn't even miss the 8% reduction in their budget. Cut away!
Bring on the sequester. Meanwhile, big donors get access to Obama. The hypocrite in chief allows the two percenters privileged access. http://freebeacon.com/chuck-todd-on-ofa-fundraising-this-just-looks-bad/
markinbecker says campaign sites still accepting "campaign donations" for...... "policy" ONLY....perfectly "normal".....nothing to see here......
Once again Obama outsmarts the teabaggers and you can only cry and complain. Man up.
Once again the Democratic Party Agenda appeases the sheep while working diligently for the destruction of the Republic. Where are the intelligent educated citizens a Republic needs to survive, let alone prosper as this did for a little over 200 years.
If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare… The powers of Congress would subvert the very foundation, the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America. Alexander Hamilton
Don't just state "Big donors get access to Obama"- it's that way for EVERY SINGLE POLITICIAN!!!
If you want to cut the waste, that's fine... but the sequester that our politicians who CREATED IT because of their inability to work together to make our budget function sensibly, instead are opting to just slash blindly and inneffectively because they can't get their Ca-Ca together and DO THEIR JOB! Sequester will only hurt those who stand to lose the most- and can least afford to. It will not solve the problems- it will not make smart cuts. There is a huge difference between intelligent planning- and BLIND SLASHING!
The problem is any decline in spending will most likely cause job losses and a decline in GDP. That will reduce tax receipts even more as the government gets back a percentage of every dollar it spends. Money not in the economy will reduce consumption. The Republicans have always used the military as it's outlet for money stimuli, while the Democrats have usually used social services and infrastructure programs. Both uses has untoward consequences. Too much into the military and you have the bloat we see today with spending for the sake of spending. Too much into social programs leads to a dependant class with too much dependancy for government support and services. Giving money back to the taxpayers works when it goes to the right ones who actually spend it creating economic gains in the GDP and more tax receipts, while giving it to the wrong ones only create more asset bubbles as "hot money" chasing monetary gains and merely the exchange of existing assets to new owners. This is the balance that we keep playing with. Truth be told, we as an nation are blessed with large amounts of natural resources and an abundance of capital (mostly in a few hands). We just need to work on that balance that produces the best overall results or we will be overtaken and passed by our competitors in other countries. The wealthy wants to keep what they have and keep the status quo since they are the current "winners" in the economy. Do we just stay still and keep our wealthy happy, or move forward and meet the future?
China continues to "grow" it's middle class creating ever greater GDP. They are projected to pass us economically in the future and as they use that GDP into their military-industrial complex, they will be our next major rival. Shouldn't we try to "grow" our middle class too?
I am shocked that the teabaggers on this vine are against cutting the DOD budget. Are you kidding. You have been crying about the national debt for the last 4+ years (since Obama was elected - not when Bush was President). Most reasonable republican agree with the democrats that the DOD must be cut, substantially. You teabaggers are absolute morons, living in your own world.
"reasonable Republicans" as opposed to "reasonable" Democrats who call fellow Americans "teabaggers" simply because they disagree with out of control "tax and spend" or creating another BLOATED Government program......called "obamacare". But of course "in your own world", its okay to spew hate-filled remarks like..... "teabaggers" and "morons"...................and that's "reasonable".
@Mruseurhead,
Correct, just like you so called conservatives called everyone who didn't agree with Bush as being "traitors, and un-patriotic". But then I guess you have forgotten that, right?
Besides, when the low informed came out wearing tri-corner hats, with tea bags dangling from each corner and pronounce to everyone they we the "TEABAGGERS."
Then when they found out they picked a name the gay men use, oh my goodness, you can't call us that. Want to bet we can't call you clueless tea baggers TEA BAGGERS? I can, do, and will. Don't like, take two asprin and go to bed.
Also for your information, since you also conviently forgot to mention, Obamacare was competely formed based on Mittcare. Want to explain why you are having so many brain farts all of a sudden? Or is that your natural state?
Amazing how the right wing is griping about the size of the defense spending!
Wasn't it the GOP that wanted to give the Pentagon $2 Trillion more that the Pentagon did not ask for and the Pentagon did not want? Of course, that was all the way back in October 2012...their memories cannot recall that far back.
Most Teabaggers wear that name with pride. It means they are a member of the Tea Party. Sort of like a Greenie is a member of the Green Party, Libertarian = Libertarian Party, got it mushroomhead.
Romney was liberal medias CHOICE as a nominee not conservatives, he is who survived "media vetting", something Obama has never HAD TO DO. So no "brain farts" here.........and "conveniently" forgot NOTHING.
Say: How about Senator Obama as candidate promising "we'll change how Washington works..." If you've forgotten, the Youtube link will help. It's even Olbermann, so you may find yourself excited by it...
Now the president is selling access to himself: Here's the link to that. http://freebeacon.com/chuck-todd-on-ofa-fundraising-this-just-looks-bad/
From my libertarian perspective, defense spending is constitutional: "provide for the general security." WASTEFUL defense spending is not... The bulk of the spending by the federal government is borderline constitutional at best: "promote the general welfare." As it is, wasteful spending there is also a problem. That's why I say bring on the sequester, and then cut more from there! The blustering doom and gloom from the left is a bluff from those addicted to or worshipers of government, and I say we should call it.
True, but than liberals have worse memories.
I see the youtube link didn't make it. Oh well, this will work as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3frsD3_OTz8 It's not Olbermann, but he still promises to "change Washington." It's still hypocrisy.
I would ask that all of you spewing hate here to think what our government and our country would be like if McCain and Palin had won the election- instead of President Obama. Ponder THAT for a few minutes! McCain can't even snarl without a pencil prop in his hand, and Palin??? C'mon... a bad reality show.
Has the average citizen really lost sight of what the Republic was intended and has been for over 200 years? Has both parties become so entrenced in rhetoric the general population has lost contact with reality? The Republican Party is no more "conservative" than the Democratic Party is "liberal" and the populist Tea Party movement is a predictable response to the extremes of the two parties. Populist movements have never amounted to anything but it does provide a peaceful and Constitutional outlet for outrage . Recent and not so recent history has ample examples showing there is very little difference in outcome of either left or right extremes, other than the economy is a little better on the right side. The average citizen would probably be surprised to realise they are in reality what is a conservative in the true sense of the word! The extremists will never realise anything, they are too entrenced in fantasy and reliant on the present appeasement politics. Its an age old problem that the Constitution was designed to prevent, how many citizens today have even heard of "The Federalist Papers" written by individuals who played a key role in that document Hamilton, Madison and jay, let alone studied it?
"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." Marcus Tullius Cicero
Thus does the Republic die.
" but its finances remain deeply troubled, obscure and impenetrable –"
Welcome to a bigasssss government of waste and fraud in ALL Departments and programs .....
Welcome to liberal World aka Obama World..... Spend Spend Spend and never cut.....
16 trillion and borrowing 40 cents on every dollar... Welcome to Insanity...
Interesting that the ONE Constitutional duty of the Federal Government is Military protection. Hell we can't even protect our borders like every other country does...
Here's a partial list of worthless departments that do nothing but consume tax payers money and should be scraped: The Agriculture Dept, the Energy Department and the Education Department...just for starters....Then start with each program and cut 10 percent across the board and let the Fat hit the floor
Bad business will die automatically. Bad government departments and programs never die. They just continue to stink up the place and demand more money.. Yes Liberalism Sucks Big Time...
16 trillion in debt and climbing and borrowing 40 cents on every dollar spent is road to disaster
Welcome to Obama World, the world of ignorance and incompetence...
Here comes Barack "Waste and Fraud" Obama....
OBAMA FLUSHES BILLIONS OF TAX PAYER’S MONEY DOWN THE CRAPPER AND TO HIS CRONIES
OBAMA PICKS LOSERS......
Solar Trust of America: FAIL! - Filed Bankruptcy in Oakland, CA, April 3, 2012
Bright Source: FAIL! - Bright Source warned Obama’s Energy Department officials in March 2011 that delays in approving a $1.6 billion U.S. loan guarantee would embarrass the White House and force the solar-energy company to close. Bright Source lost billions of dollars but is getting more money to keep trying. Can you say, “This isn’t working Mr. President?”
Solyndra: FAIL! - Obama gave $500,000,000 (that’s a HALF BILLION!) in taxpayer money to Solyndra who shut its doors and laid off 1100 workers in August 2011 after obama threw that taxpayer money down the drain of unproven technology.
LSP Energy: FAIL! - LSPEnergy LP filed bankruptcy protection and a sale of its assets in Feb 2012
Energy Conversion Devices: FAIL! – On February 14, 2012 Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy
Abound Solar: FAIL! - Abound Solar received a $400 million loan guarantee from Barack Obama then announced in June, 2012 that it would file for bankruptcy. Many of these failed corporations, such as Abound, donated MILLIONS and continue to donate to Barack Obama’s campaign. Can you say, “Democrat Slush Fund”? Yes this is illegal. But Democrats are being protected from being prosecuted, for now.
SunPower: FAIL! - SunPower stopped producing solar cells in 2011 at near bankruptcy then restructured with the help of, get this, oil giant TOTAL, Inc. who owns 60% stake in SunPower. Irony? The company is still struggling.
Beacon Power: FAIL! – Beacon Power Corp filed for bankruptcy protection in October, 2011 just a year after Obama approved a $43 million Government loan guarantee. They remain barely in business, still struggling to make energy that makes sense or that works at all.
Ecotality: FAIL! - ECOtality, a San Francisco green-tech company that never earned any money and remains on the verge of bankruptcy after receiving roughly $115 million in two loan guarantees from President Obama, who wants to do some more of this kind of Democrat Slush Fund Guarantees after he is elected to a 2nd term.
A123 Solar: FAIL! - A123 Solar received $279 million from taxpayers thanks to President Obama’s Department of Energy loan guarantees even after the Solyndra bankruptcy and is getting another $500M from Obama after a loss of $400M.
UniSolar: FAIL! - Uni-Solar filed for Ch 11 bankruptcy in June 20, 2012 after laying off hundreds of workers. UniSolar received even more Obama money after showing now progress, no profits and is still failing… yet they still remain in business with Obama’s help.
Azure Dynamics: FAIL! - Azure Dynamics filed for bankruptcy in June , 2012 wasting millions in Obama “Stimulus” money and received abatement on taxes owed and and several tax credits. Azure Dynamics LLC filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the US. Azure laid off 120 of its 160 employees in Oak Park; Boston; Vancouver, British Columbia; and the UK.
Evergreen Solar: FAIL! - Evergreen Solar received $527 Million in Taxpayer money from Obama and filed bankruptcy in late 2011. Evergreen, which closed its taxpayer- supported
Devens factory in March, 2011 cut more than 1800 jobs. Evergreen’s $450 million factory, turned out to be a colossal “waste” of taxpayer money.
Ener1: FAIL! Ener1 Inc. received a $118 million U.S. Energy Department grant from President Obama to make electric-car batteries but filed for bankruptcy protection January 2012 after defaulting on bond debt.
You don't go along with Ignorance (Obama World) , you educate and Defeat it....
JFART....
Obama can only spend what CONGRESS allocates....that starts in the House....
Congress??? Yes, Liberal dominated congresses since FDR has spent us into oblivion.... Obama had total control of congress to pass the partisan and unpopular Obamacare.... and trillions in stimulus down the crapper and 2 his cronies.. And the doofus Obama and his butt kissing media vilifies any in congress who want cuts...
Obama still has the bully pulpit and his butt kissing media..
An elite Obama fundraiser hired to help oversee the administration's energy loan program pushed and prodded career Department of Energy officials to move faster in approving a loan guarantee for Solyndra, even as his wife's law firm was representing the California solar company, according to internal emails made public late Friday.
So when the liberals always rant about Reagan spending us into oblivion, it was really the Democrat congress????
Hmm, failed solar companies, or rusting tanks in fields. Gee, which is more wasteful?
As an outsider looking in (Canada) how exactly does the American Government get anything done? Don't mean to be an azz but it seems that the system just might be broken.
Quote: "As an outsider looking in (Canada) .... seems that the system just might be broken."
Doug- I applaud you for a MOST astute observation!
Amazing how the right wing is griping about the size of the defense spending!
Wasn't it the GOP that wanted to give the Pentagon $2 Trillion more that the Pentagon did not ask for and the Pentagon did not want? Of course, that was all the way back in October 2012...their memories cannot recall that far back.
Yes, you already said that.
@jblast
Yes, he just followed in Bush's failed footsteps in not having a good record with business. Bush spent how much with the no bid contracts he gave out to his fellow crooks? How much money was on those pallets that got lost in Iraq? Several billion at least, but it could be more, as no one knows for sure.
So keep up the good work and keep listening to faux noise and rush and keep everyone updated on all the lies you hear, OK? Good boy jblast. Ya mommy's proud of you.
I thought Obama was supposed to be the NEW and IMPROVED intelligent one with NEW ethics and transparency..... What a load of crap that was...
BTW, that's why the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were carefully crafted by our forefathers... to protect all Americans FROM the federal government and to LIMIT it's power.... The liberals hate these two documents...
More waste and fraud in the so called Stimulus....Welcome to Obama World.... this is just a small sample:
-- $233,000 to the University of California at San Diego to study why Africans vote. Jobs created: 12, but seven of those are Africans in Africa.
-- In Nevada, $2 million in stimulus money built a new fire station, but because of budget cuts, the county can't afford to hire firefighters to work there.
-- Penn State University got $1.5 million to study plant fossils in Argentina. Of 5 jobs created, 2 belong to Argentines.
-- Researchers the State University of New York at Buffalo got $389,000 to pay 100 Buffalonians $45 each to record how much malt liquor they drink -- and how much pot smoke each day. Consumption is then reported via an automated phone hotline. Cost per job: almost $200,000.
-- The Obama administration is spending $5 billion to weatherize homes. But one Texas county spent $4 million to weatherize just 47 homes. That's $78,000 per house. Each retrofit is supposed to save homeowners $500 a year in energy costs. That means taxpayers will recoup their investment in 156 years, long after the home is probably torn down.
-- Two Arizona universities got almost $1 million dollars so 3 grad students can study how ants work. That's more than $300,000 per job.
-- Companies that raise tropical fish, shellfish, catfish, alligators and even turtles qualify for $50 million in tax money to buy fish food.
-- North Carolina public schools received $4.4 million to hire math and literacy coaches, not for students, but teachers. That's 64 people paid $70,000 each to teach teachers how to teach reading and math.
"We have to know that people at the Office of Management and Budget and the various agencies that are shoveling this money out the door, that they're on top of it," Grassley told Fox News. "And we need transparency and information on all of this."
Senate sources say privately many inspectors general are understaffed and overwhelmed, and mechanisms to stop fraud and disqualify tax cheats, criminals and others aren't always working.
Take the Napa Valley Wine Train. The county received $54 million to build a railroad bridge, relocate a half-mile of track and build a flood wall to protect a wine train passenger station. The no-bid contract went to a minority-owned business operated by an Eskimo tribe outside Anchorage.
The company then hired a real construction company for a fraction of what they were paid by the government to actually do the work. The tribe's CEO has no construction experience. His last business, a Web site for sailors, went bankrupt after spending $13 million in investor money.
"That wine train is sort of the perfect storm of practically all of the things that is wrong with government contracting," said Danielle Brian, director of the Project on Government Oversight.
Other dubious contracts include:
-- $6 million in stimulus money to a California contractor under federal investigation for overcharging San Diego for cleanup after the 2007 wildfires
-- A Denver developer received $13 million in tax credits to help build a senior housing complex despite being sued as a slumlord for running decrepit, rodent-infested apartment buildings in San Francisco.
-- Kentucky gave $24 million to a contractor on trial on for bribery.
-- An aerospace company received $15 million to monitor water quality in a Ventura County creek it was already fined for polluting.
"What we have is already a broken system. The federal government is just lousy in its contracting. When you add these elements of speed where the contracting officers or the agencies are being pushed to hurry up and get these dollars out and these grants out quickly, all you're doing is making it harder for them to make good choices," said Brian.
great post; left-wing nutjobs wont touch it; too many facts.
Say What?
FOLWNJ.....
The new ID of the fallen LEFTISFACSIST....
Only the name has changed to protect the guilty
stupidity doesnt count; even if it IS all you know leftard
I knew it was Fascist, I just knew it. My how the weak minded Fascist has fallen.
i'm not down to your level; so what is your point leftard?
FOLWNJ.....
The new ID of the fallen LEFTISFACSIST....
Only the name has changed to protect the guilty
here's a tissue and an obama phone
call somebody who cares
I thought budgets cuts were what you all wanted.