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Obama (OB) has asked for a 10% cut in the defense budget, while spending on PORK has increased dramatically (the so-called "stimulus" spending bill).
The First priority of the Federal Government should be defense. That is the main reason for it's existance. Why are we cutting defense spending and wasting money on all the PORK that is in the so-called "stimulus" bill, which includes the following:
$83 billion in welfare payments (the earned income credit for people who don't pay income tax)
$81 billion for Medicaid
$86 billion on education, more than the entire Department of Education required just ten years ago
$36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits
$20 billion for food stamps
$8 billion on renewable energy projects
$7 billion for modernizing federal buildings and facilities
$6 billion on urban transit systems
$2 billion for child-care subsidies
$1 billion for Amtrak
$650 million for digital TV conversion coupons
$600 million on new cars for government
$400 million for global-warming research
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
Your idea of what constitutes PORK is pretty laughable... since when is spending on Education or Extended Unemployment Benefits 'pork'??
We already spend more on national defense than the rest of the world combined... and that's not excessive in your opinion??? I think we could half the DOD budget and still be totally capable of protecting ourselves.
All these programs Obama would like to fund may be worthy programs. But are they related to fixing the economy? This stimulus package is supposed to be about jump starting a stalled economy not fulfilling a wish list.
Example: Modernizing fed buildings?
New cars for the Gov?
The arts?
Come on and this is just some of the more obvious pork attached.
For the thousandth time for folks to damned lazy to read the actual bill...
How do you modernize Federal buildings, with a magic wand or with electricians, and carpenters?
The arts, no money for arts, money is to keep employees of arts programs employed. You know jobs, money, people who spend money, buy things, pay mortgages, stimulate economy....
New cars, I'm just speechless trying to point out some so obvious that Ray Charles could see, and he's blind and dead.
I am all for spending on defense, but even in defense spending you will find pork if you look hard enough. And what's with the complaining about $50 million for the NEA? That's chump change. For comparison, one F-22 (cool plane that it is) costs around $137 million. And we have over 100 of those. I'm not a big art fan but $50 million is okay with me .
I wouldn't call $86 billion to the Department of Education a "waste". Besides, he's doing the best he can. He isn't God, if that is what you were expecting.
After GWB increased its budget by 50% with abysmal results, I would think throwing more money at it can only be seen as being what most of the rest of this bill is, political payola to Democratic Party supporters.
God? No, of course not. But I'm inclined to think he is the anti-Christ.
Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-rendition1-2009feb01,0,4661244.story - broken link)
Quote:
[But]...the Obama administration appears to have determined that the rendition program was one component of the Bush administration's war on terrorism that it could not afford to discard.
The decision underscores the fact that the battle with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups is far from over and that even if the United States is shutting down the prisons, it is not done taking prisoners.
This oughta set the 'Bama bobbleheads spinning and rocking...
A senior Pentagon advisory group, in a series of bluntly worded briefings, is warning President-elect Barack Obama that the Defense Department's current budget is "not sustainable," and he must scale back or eliminate some of the military's most prized weapons programs.
The briefings were prepared by the Defense Business Board, an internal management oversight body. It contends that the nation's recent financial crisis makes it imperative that the Pentagon and Congress slash some of the nation's most costly and troubled weapons to ensure they can finance the military's most pressing priorities.
Those include rebuilding ground forces battered by multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan and expanding the ranks to wage the war on terrorism.
"The briefings were prepared by the Defense Business Board, an internal management oversight body. It contends that the nation's recent financial crisis makes it imperative that the Pentagon and Congress slash some of the nation's most costly and troubled weapons to ensure they can finance the military's most pressing priorities."
First, the Democrats caused the financial crisis by fighting against GSE oversight reform. Secondly, they require our service members (the ones who protect us) to do without the equipment that will save their lives and then, finally, throw the money that could be used to protect our heroes down a liberal rat hole of political payola. Wasn't it the left who were making all that noise about our troops being forced to travel in unarmored hummers? Weren't Democrats making hay out of service members scavenging junk yards for armor plating? Well. as long as we can export abortion, fully fund the arts and everyone in Washington has a completely renovated office, Who cares what becomes of those people who protect out way of life?
After saying all those things about GWB being the worst president in history, Aren't you liberals embarrassed by your president now?
"The briefings were prepared by the Defense Business Board, an internal management oversight body. It contends that the nation's recent financial crisis makes it imperative that the Pentagon and Congress slash some of the nation's most costly and troubled weapons to ensure they can finance the military's most pressing priorities."
First, the Democrats caused the financial crisis by fighting against GSE oversight reform. Secondly, they require our service members (the ones who protect us) to do without the equipment that will save their lives and then, finally, throw the money that could be used to protect our heroes down a liberal rat hole of political payola. Wasn't it the left who were making all that noise about our troops being forced to travel in unarmored hummers? Weren't Democrats making hay out of service members scavenging junk yards for armor plating? Well. as long as we can export abortion, fully fund the arts and everyone in Washington has a completely renovated office, Who cares what becomes of those people who protect out way of life?
After saying all those things about GWB being the worst president in history, Aren't you liberals embarrassed by your president now?
After saying all those things about GWB being the worst president in history, Aren't you liberals embarrassed by your president now?
I'm not personally a liberal, but no, I feel Obama is doing quite a decent job. I'd rather see more and deeper spending cuts, but the military is the first thing that needs to be cut, and very drastically.
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