Americans
can begin to hope that the current recession, coupled with the politics of debt
reduction in Washington, may yet result in cuts in that runaway Pentagon budget,
The Nation magazine says in its April 11th issue.
"War-weary
Americans have turned decisively against the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq,
and, according to polls, voters support cuts in military spending," Contributing
Editor Robert Dreyfuss writes.
"After
13 consecutive years of growth, between 1998 and 2011, spending on the military
has reached an all-time high," and for 2012 the Pentagon's Robert Gates "is
asking Congress to authorize yet another increase, seeking $553 billion, plus an
additional $118 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan, for a total of $671 billion,"
Dreyfuss writes. Throw in all war spending, homeland defense ($44 billion),
Veterans Affairs ($122 billion), interest on military debt ($48 billion) and the
war machine is costing the public in excess of $1 trillion a year.
"It's
so much money," Dreyfuss writes, President Obama's own National Commission on
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform(NCFRR) pointed out the $80 billion the U.S.
spends on military R&D alone "surpassed China's entire military budget by
more than $10 billion." Overall, Dreyfuss writes, the U.S. spends as much on
military "as the rest of the world combined."
What's
more, the Pentagon's trillion dollar spending spree exceeds the general funds of
all 50 U.S. states combined, which, says the National Association of State
Budget Officers, will come to about $636 billion in 2011. Translation: Pentagon
spending for war
is greater than all public outlays for all purposes by all states. And while
hard-pressed states wallow in debt and lay off teachers and police, "defense"
contractors enjoy record or near-record profits.
Editor
Dreyfuss noted that "a series of high-powered reports" last year called for "big
cuts in military spending, with each projecting reductions of 15-20 percent of
the Pentagon budget." These were:
Sustainable
Defense Task Force of Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul, seeking to chop $960
billion between 2011 and 2020.
The
libertarian Cato Institute published "Budgetary Savings From Military Restraint"
that outlined $1.2 trillion in cuts over 10 years, including a one-third cut in
troop strength.
The
Bipartisan Policy Center issued "Restoring America's Future" that proposed a
five-year freeze in Pentagon spending at current levels plus a cap on future
growth that would save $1.1 trillion over a decade.
"Most
startling," Dreyfuss writes, was President Obama's own NCFRR came up with nearly
$1 trillion in cuts.
"Broadly
speaking, public opinion no longer favors military spending," Dreyfuss writes.
"Support
for the war in Afghanistan, which absorbs $10 billion a month, has dropped off a
cliff, with two-thirds of Americans saying the war is no longer worth
fighting."
"Other
polling," he continues, "shows that when asked to choose between cuts in
Pentagon spending and undermining the social safety net, the public chooses
cutting the Pentagon."
A
March poll, Dreyfuss notes, revealed that 51 percent favor reductions in
military spending versus just 28 percent who would cut Medicare and Medicaid and
18 percent who'd cut Social Security.
If
the public truly seeks to slash the Pentagon budget, the fight will be long and
hard and it will have to start right away. Dreyfuss quotes Lawrence Korb, a
military analyst at the liberal Center for American Progress, who says few if
any cuts will
come before the 2015 budget cycle. "If you start now, you can take out
$100 billion a year by 2015. That's realistic," Korb is quoted as saying.
Personally,
I prefer my own Ross Plan to all of the cuts suggested above. The Ross Plan
would require the Peace Corps and the Pentagon to switch budgets and personnel
numbers. Restricted to $400 million a year and 8,600 troops the Pentagon
couldn't possibly raise all the hell it does. And with a $1 trillion budget and
three million workers, the Peace Corps, (which candidate Obama promised to
double from 7,800 to 16,000 by 2011 but, of course, never has might just work
wonders.)
About
the Writer: Sherwood Ross is a public relations consultant for good causes who
also runs the Anti-War News Service.
HA/SM/DB
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