Skip to main content

a GREAT PIECE WRITTEN BY dR. pAUL cRAIG rOBERTS, WORLD RENOUNED ECONOMIST AND father of Reagan's economic policy. He has since renounced his error's from the Reagan days.

http://www.infowars.com/an-eco...enemy-is-washington/

 

 An excellent quote.

"

The total military/security budget is in the vicinity of $1.1-$1.2 trillion, or 70% -75% of the federal budget deficit.

In contrast, Social Security is solvent. Medicare expenditures are coming close to exceeding the 2.3% payroll tax that funds Medicare, but it is dishonest for politicians and pundits to blame the US budget deficit on “entitlement programs.”

Entitlements are funded with a payroll tax. Wars are not funded. The criminal Bush regime lied to Americans and claimed that the Iraq war would only cost $70 billion at the most and would be paid for with Iraq oil revenues. When Bush’s chief economic advisor, Larry Lindsay, said the Iraq invasion would cost $200 billion, the White House Moron fired him. In fact, Lindsay was off by a factor of 20. Economic and budget experts have calculated that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have consumed $4,000 billion in out-of-pocket and already incurred future costs. In other words, the ongoing wars and occupations have already eaten up the $4 trillion by which Obama hopes to cut federal spending over the next ten years. Bomb now, pay later."

 

And another,

"Washington serves powerful interest groups, such as the military/security complex, Wall Street and the banksters, agribusiness, the oil companies, the insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, and the mining and timber industries. Washington endows these interests with excess profits by committing war crimes and terrorizing foreign populations with bombs, drones, and invasions, by deregulating the financial sector and bailing it out of its greed-driven mistakes after it has stolen Americans’ pensions, homes, and jobs, by refusing to protect the land, air, water, oceans and wildlife from polluters and despoilers, and by constructing a health care system with the highest costs and highest profits in the world."

 

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Citing an article by Paul Roberts is rather sad. And, from Infowars.com -- the conspiracy enthusiasts dreamsite -- jeez!  What next, more Bush planned 9/11 and the truthers!

 

Sadly, Dr Roberts joined the tin foil hat brigade years ago.

 

That said, let's examine what he wrote.  The Iraq was was underestimated as to cost and length.  Yes, and so have most wars been so underestimated.

 

Lincoln called up troops for 90 days to fight the south.  Oops!  Big time miscalculation!  WWI was supposed to be a short affair -- another big underestimate.

 

Hitler thought the European portion of the USSR would be occupied before winter.  So, did Napoleon.  Remember how those wars turned out!

 

True, the US War Department's estimate of WWII was wrong  They estimated 1947 to conquer Japan.  The A-bomb shorted that bloody affair.

 

Now, as to the costs he cites for defense and security.  For FY 11, DoD -- $553 billion for basic operations and $110.8 billion for the Iraq/Afghanistan theaters, Homeland Security -- $43.2 billion, and VA -- $61.8 billion for a total of $768.8 billion.  A bit short of his estimate.

 

DoD is slated to cut its basic budget as is the Iraq/Afghanistan theater.  Its basic budget is already much lower than the Cold War era budget.  Homeland Security in one format, or another has been with us for a century or more -- Customs and Border Protection, FEMA, TSA, ICE, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.  VA is on a downway slope budget wise.  The WWII vets are leaving at a steady pace.  The numbers from Korea, Viet Nam and later are a much smaller number than the 14.1 million from WWII.

 

Entiltements, however, are projected to blow the roof off the budget -- compromising 92 percent in the not too distant future.

 

 

The Obama Administration’s FY 2011 budget request includes a total of $712 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD). The base budget for the Department includes $549 billion in discretionary funding and $4 billion in mandatory funding. An additional $159 billion is requested for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The budget also requests $19 billion for defense-related atomic energy programs, $8 billion for defense-related activities in other agencies, and $122 billion for veterans. Together these expenses total $861 billion, or 22 percent of the total federal budget.

 

Budget Breakdown for 2012

Defense-related expenditure↓2012 Budget request & Mandatory spending[18][19]↓Calculation[20][21]↓
DOD spending$707.5 billionBase budget + "Overseas Contingency Operations"
FBI counter-terrorism$2.7 billionAt least one-third FBI budget.
International Affairs$5.6–$63.0 billionAt minimum, foreign arms sales. At most, entire State budget
Energy Department, defense-related$21.8 billion 
Veterans Affairs$70.0 billion 
Homeland Security$46.9 billion 
NASA, satellites$3.5–$8.7 billionBetween 20% and 50% of NASA's total budget
Veterans pensions$54.6 billion 
Other defense-related mandatory spending$8.2 billion 
Interest on debt incurred in past wars$109.1–$431.5 billionBetween 23% and 91% of total interest
Total Spending$1.030–$1.415 trillion 

Add Reply

Post

Untitled Document
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×