Dem: US credit down because of military spending

[R.Zaragoza]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee says the biggest reason the United States is seeing its credit downgraded is that it spends too much money being "the military policemen of the world."

Rep. Barney Frank tells CBS's "The Early Show" that reining in defense spending is "going to be my mantra" for the next few months.

The liberal Massachusetts Democrat says $200 billion could be saved "without in any way endangering our security" by dialing back U.S. military involvement in the world, including operations in Western Europe. Frank says the military establishment has always had this "great momentum" in politics, but says the credit reversal "could change our thinking." Frank calls the military a logical target "if we're looking for something that breaks the mold" on spending.

News from The Associated Press

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by R.Zaragoza

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee says the biggest reason the United States is seeing its credit downgraded is that it spends too much money being "the military policemen of the world."

Rep. Barney Frank tells CBS's "The Early Show" that reining in defense spending is "going to be my mantra" for the next few months.

The liberal Massachusetts Democrat says $200 billion could be saved "without in any way endangering our security" by dialing back U.S. military involvement in the world, including operations in Western Europe. Frank says the military establishment has always had this "great momentum" in politics, but says the credit reversal "could change our thinking." Frank calls the military a logical target "if we're looking for something that breaks the mold" on spending.

News from The Associated Press

I'm pretty much to the realization that there will never be anywhere close to a compromise/common grounds ever when you have people that actually believes that shit. I'm pretty much ready to tX to Succeed so I don't have to worry about shit like this hitting the fan in 35 years when i'm ready to retire.

[VITE1]

Hey Barney. What about the 700 Billion we spend each year for deadbeat and scumbags? You know, welfare? How about stopping that? Its grown faster than military spending over the past ten years.

[Exotix]

Hey Barney ... remind us again what the cost of Bush's wars are ... you know, what Bush borrowed from China and put the rest on a credit card for the American people to pay off so Cheney could loot the U.S. Treasury because it was his due and what the hell ...

*Deficits don't Matter*

[RetiredSFC 97]

barney is a complete fruitcake

However,

When they gutted the military in the nineties, and spent the money, the missions didn't decrease. They had to compensate with civilian contractors for many things soldiers/marines/sailors and I guess airmen, used to do.

contractors are way more expensive than active duty personnel. Plus they put a ton of money into the guard and reserves to make up for the loss of active duty personnel.

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by Exotix

Hey Barney ... remind us again what the cost of Bush's wars are ... you know, what Bush borrowed from China and put the rest on a credit card for the American people to pay off so Cheney could loot the U.S. Treasury because it was his due and what the hell ...

*Deficits don't Matter*

Reagan Proved Deficits Don't Matter* | Crooks and Liars

"Reagan," Vice President Dick Cheney famously declared in 2002, "proved deficits don't matter." Unless, that is, a Democrat is in the White House. After all, while Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, each Republican was rewarded with a second term in office. But as the Gallup polling data show, concern over the federal deficit hasn't been this high since Democratic budget balancer Bill Clinton was in office. All of which suggest the Republicans' born-again disdain for deficits ranks among the greatest - and most successful - political double-standards in recent memory.

The triumph of the GOP messaging machine is reflected in a new Washington Post/Pew Research poll. In just the four months since the Republican majority took control of the House, the percentage of Americans believing the budget deficit is a major problem which must be addressed now catapulted from 70% to 81%. But even more revealing is an April Gallup survey which showed the deficit (17%) rivaling the unemployment (19%) and the overall state of the economy (26%). And as it turns out, those cyclical swings in budget angst reflect the complete victory of the conservative deficit narrative.

As predicted at the time, Reagan's massive $749 billion supply-side tax cuts in 1981 quickly produced even more massive annual budget deficits. Combined with his rapid increase in defense spending, Reagan delivered not the balanced budgets he promised, but record-settings deficits. Ultimately, Reagan was forced to repeatedly raised taxes to avert financial catastrophe, including the last major bipartisan tax code overhaul in 1986. By the time he left office in 1989, Ronald Reagan nonetheless more than equaled the entire debt burden produced by the previous 200 years of American history. It's no wonder the Gipper cited the skyrocketing deficits he bequeathed to America as perhaps his greatest regret.

[bearstrail]

Originally Posted by VITE1

Hey Barney. What about the 700 Billion we spend each year for deadbeat and scumbags? You know, welfare? How about stopping that? Its grown faster than military spending over the past ten years.

Originally Posted by Exotix

Hey Barney ... remind us again what the cost of Bush's and the democratic Congress' wars are ... you know, what Bush and the democratic Congress borrowed from China and put the rest on a credit card for the American people to pay off ...... (incoherent, unsupported gibberish)


*Deficits don't Matter*

Fixed

Although I will say that the war being paid for "off budget" without a corresponding revenue offset is unforgivable for either party to have agreed to. This alone was enough to make me want to back a tea party and start hoisting RINO's out of office. This was the second greatest failure of Bush right after his participation in getting medicare Part D through.

[Exotix]

Originally Posted by bearstrail

Hey Barney ... remind us again what the cost of Bush's and the democratic Congress' wars are ... you know, what Bush and the democratic Congress borrowed from China and put the rest on a credit card for the American people to pay off ...... (incoherent, unsupported gibberish)


*Deficits don't Matter*

Fixed

Although I will say that the war being paid for "off budget" without a corresponding revenue offset is unforgivable for either party to have agreed to. This alone was enough to make me want to back a tea party and start hoisting RINO's out of office. This was the second greatest failure of Bush right after his participation in getting medicare Part D through.

The Dems went along because why would Bush & Cheney lie (to Congress, U.N. and the world ?) ... and Blix was the liar ...

[bearstrail]

Originally Posted by Exotix

The Dems went along because why would Bush & Cheney lie (to Congress and the world ?)

OOoooooooh so the only people in the US government who had access to intelligence were Bush and Cheney. I mean it's not like the House and Senate have sub-committes specifically on intelligence. What a pathetic cop-out. They had access to anything they wanted in the US gov't and anything that foreign agencies shared. They owned this failure as much as anyone.

[Chris Fowler]

Even if this statement is 100% correct...$200 billion...wow...that would fix everything...really?

[Peter Pan]

Originally Posted by Chris Fowler

Even if this statement is 100% correct...$200 billion...wow...that would fix everything...really?

This plus just taxing the rich will put us in the black from Obama's 1.6 Trillion deficit this year, all well be just peachy

[R.Zaragoza]

Originally Posted by Exotix

Hey Barney ... remind us again what the cost of Bush's wars are ... you know, what Bush borrowed from China and put the rest on a credit card for the American people to pay off so Cheney could loot the U.S. Treasury because it was his due and what the hell ...

*Deficits don't Matter*

Bush,Bush,Bush,Bush,Bush.

[BuckyThreadkiller]

Let's see 1.5 million Americans in the military.

50.1 million Americans on some form of Welfare.


Yep, I see where cutting the DOD is really going to fix that right up.


I'm thinking it will never become obvious to the socialists that the economy isn't made up of ants that can carry ten times their own weight.

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by R.Zaragoza

Bush,Bush,Bush,Bush,Bush.

Clinton, Clinton, Clinton, Clinton, Clinton … see the pattern?

[Exotix]

Originally Posted by ChasC5

Clinton, Clinton, Clinton, Clinton, Clinton … see the pattern?

Heck they aren't even Reaganites anymore after *How many times was the Debt-Ceiling Raised by The Gipper ?*

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by Exotix

Heck they aren't even Reaganites anymore after *How many times was the Debt-Ceiling Raised by The Gipper ?*

Oh that don't count ... because when they are in charge, deficits don't matter.

But if there's Brother in charge ...

[Joecooool]

Being a defense contractor, I see incredible waste every day. The whole procurement system needs to be overhauled.

We have whole weapon systems that are nothing but pork barrel projects designed to keep jobs in powerful senators and congressmen's districts.

We have laws that force the government to spend millions of dollars more than they need to just to satisfy small business set aside requirements.

We have military units scrambling to spend every cent they have before October 1st on shit they don't need just so their budget for the next year isn't reduced.

We have the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines each with their own systems who refuse to work with the other services in order to keep more money in their own coffers.

Have you ever wondered why the F4 was the only aircraft the Air Force and Navy both bought?

We need a strong military, but not one that is so wasteful. Frank is right. There are many things that could and should be done to overhaul the military budget.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Joecooool

Being a defense contractor, I see incredible waste every day. The whole procurement system needs to be overhauled.

We have whole weapon systems that are nothing but pork barrel projects designed to keep jobs in powerful senators and congressmen's districts.

We have laws that force the government to spend millions of dollars more than they need to just to satisfy small business set aside requirements.

We have military units scrambling to spend every cent they have before October 1st on shit they don't need just so their budget for the next year isn't reduced.

We have the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines each with their own systems who refuse to work with the other services in order to keep more money in their own coffers.

Have you ever wondered why the F4 was the only aircraft the Air Force and Navy both bought?

We need a strong military, but not one that is so wasteful. Frank is right. There are many things that could and should be done to overhaul the military budget.

I agree there is Huge waste in the procurement process of the DoD. What pisses me off is there is equal if not more waste and fraud in Medicaid, Medicare and
Welfare all three add up to significantly more than the saving in the military.

So Why is Frank not attacking them? Because the welfare deadbeats vote for him and his party. Cut Welfare and the other "Safety Net" programs. The war on Poverty is a failure and should be ended.

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by Joecooool

Being a defense contractor, I see incredible waste every day. The whole procurement system needs to be overhauled.

We have whole weapon systems that are nothing but pork barrel projects designed to keep jobs in powerful senators and congressmen's districts.

We have laws that force the government to spend millions of dollars more than they need to just to satisfy small business set aside requirements.

We have military units scrambling to spend every cent they have before October 1st on shit they don't need just so their budget for the next year isn't reduced.

We have the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines each with their own systems who refuse to work with the other services in order to keep more money in their own coffers.

Have you ever wondered why the F4 was the only aircraft the Air Force and Navy both bought?

We need a strong military, but not one that is so wasteful. Frank is right. There are many things that could and should be done to overhaul the military budget.

While this is true for all acquisitions the US government makes, not just military. The incredible waste and disservice this government is doing for the low class/entitlement class, desperately needs the same over haul

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by Joecooool

Being a defense contractor, I see incredible waste every day. The whole procurement system needs to be overhauled.

We have whole weapon systems that are nothing but pork barrel projects designed to keep jobs in powerful senators and congressmen's districts.

We have laws that force the government to spend millions of dollars more than they need to just to satisfy small business set aside requirements.

We have military units scrambling to spend every cent they have before October 1st on shit they don't need just so their budget for the next year isn't reduced.

We have the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines each with their own systems who refuse to work with the other services in order to keep more money in their own coffers.

Have you ever wondered why the F4 was the only aircraft the Air Force and Navy both bought?

We need a strong military, but not one that is so wasteful. Frank is right. There are many things that could and should be done to overhaul the military budget.

The Military Budget; if you don’t support it, you’re weak and Un-American.

It’s how our Politicians play their little games in their own personal Money Sand-Box.