In the recent and developing attempt to purge the government budget of wasteful costs, new opposition has arisen in the military sector. The Pentagon has been bitter about having to eliminate major military programs such as ground-based nuclear missiles. A cutting process known as “sequestration,” which is automatic triggered cuts, is foreshadowed if the super committee in congress led by senator John McCain, continues to put crucial military programs on the chopping block.
Leon Panetta, the defense secretary has been vocal and active in his opposition to the military cuts calling for a halt or else national security will be at risk. He has predicted that if budgets are cut at the same rate as they are in the status quo, the ground force will return to the size it had decades ago. Not only has this been a major argument of preventing such cuts, which are utilized to mend the broken economy, but the supporters of the military have also claimed that such cuts would hurt the economy. Their claim is that if military manufacturers do not have the money to construct such military utilities, jobs would be lost and many would become unemployed by the cuts so essentially, the economic cuts would be counterproductive.
What is not understood by the government is that cuts must be made intelligently and effectively. The cuts being made currently is just using the military as a scapegoat to not have to cut down on programs that would damage politicians. The programs that are truly being wasteful include many of the welfare agencies that are allocated excess money. These are the controversial programs that have come to light in the American population’s eyes have brought on much questioning to where their tax dollars are going. Cutting down on programs that are in critical need and of significant importance to the labor force would be completely illogical. Although the government does need major trimming on excess budget allocations, we still must uphold the safety of the people and the nation. The government needs to reevaluate each and every portion of the budget and selectively and effectively restructure how cuts can be made while thinking long term as well. Even if the military cuts function in the status quo and give the economy a momentary relief, it will eventually catch up long term and damage the employment.
Brandon, I agree with you that a long-term solution means a careful evaluation of each budgetary item. We, as a country, have gotten used to the idea of surplus spending and expect someone else to solve our financial woes. The reality of the situation is that we are in debt and in desperate need to cut back our spending to help our economy recover. Our national security and defense expenditure is one of the largest elements of our budget. The United States recognizes that a powerful military is important in maintaining our safety. However, we spend more than many of the most industrious nations combined and accounted for 43% of global military expenditures in 2010. [1] I feel national defense is one area where there is a need scale back our spending. I do agree with you that the safety of the people needs to be upheld but at what cost?
ReplyDeleteRon Paul, current Republican presidential candidate, has been vocal in his stance of scaling back America’s military footprint in foreign nations. I think this could be a reasonable option. We currently operate in over 100 countries and this is very costly. This also adds to the notion that as a country we need to “police the world” which can create a negative view on what America truly stands for, diplomacy and democracy. By bringing our troops back home we can hope to secure our borders at a lower cost and help balance our national budget. [2] Of course this idea seems simple and could have potential drawbacks. The best method to test this theory would either be a temporary scale back or a minor scale back of certain bases. Either way, Congress needs to find a way to successfully decrease military spending without losing the national security we have upheld as a nation.
[1] http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
[2] http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Ron-Paul-foreign-policy/2011/11/20/id/418626