The United States spends more than any other country in the world on our military. In fact, we spend more on our military than most other countries combined. So it is rather shocking to hear politicians from both sides of the aisle tell us that we can’t afford things like universal healthcare or debt free college, when all we have to do is shift funding from our bloated military budget to do it. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.
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Earlier this week, the House of Representatives voted on the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018, the NDAA. That is the piece of legislation that funds the military for the coming fiscal year.
They decided that they were going to give the military 700 billion dollars to operate in the next 12 months. That is an 80 billion dollar increase than what they had the previous year.
If we're willing to spend, as a country, 700 billion dollars on our military for just one year, why are we being told that things like universal healthcare, medicare for all, debt-free college, after school programs, infrastructure development, why are we being told that those things are too expensive or that they're pipe dreams that the federal government could never fully handle, operate, execute? We just can't do it because we don't have the resources. We have heard that argument too many times in the last few weeks, especially with regards to Bernie Sanders Medicare for All legislation. That includes those talking points coming out of the mouths of alleged democrats in Washington, D.C. We just can't afford it.
We gave the military an 80 billion dollar increase in their budget for the next year, but as it turns out, Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All legislation would only cost us 47 billion dollars per year. We still could've increased the military's budget by 33 billion dollars over what they had the previous months and fully funded the Medicare for All legislation, no questions asked. That's it. End of story. That's how you fund it.
Here in the United States, we spend more on our military than any other country on the planet. In fact, we spend so much on our military that we spend more than most other countries combined. We're not even close to having anyone else spend near as much on their military as we do. Part of this budget authorization includes 94 brand new F35 fighter jets, which was 2 dozen more than what the Pentagon actually wanted, but Trump wanted them to have 94 instead of 72, so we increased it. Congress went along with it. We gave them the money for planes that we don't need and the Pentagon didn't even want, but healthcare for everyone, we can't afford that folks. Sorry. Why don't you go to your private insurer who is going to jack up your rates whenever you get sick and may not even cover you next year because you got sick. That's what's in the legislation that Republicans are actually currently working on.
Next time anyone tells you that a program proposed by a Democrat or any kind of pie-in-the-sky let's fund something for everyone type legislation is just too expensive. Use this argument against them. That 700 billion dollars for one year of military operations. If we can afford that, we can afford anything.
$700 Billion, take that in for a moment folks and imagen what could have done with it.
How about an UBI? Or maybe some kind of guaranteed housing?
I remember Jack Ma’s Alibaba pointing out the US spending trillions of dollars in waging wars for years instead of investing in it’s own country and people. Nothing will ever change it seems.
Michael M. And remember, who is paying for it. You and me! The tax payer. That’s why trump can say build another 20 jet fighters. It’s not is money! trump won’t even show us his tax returns.What a fucking waste.
Exavior31 best comment ever! I totally agree
Michael M – give it away in tax breaks for billionaires…we need more $7.50 an hour jobs.
Bunch of fucking hypocrites if I have a $1 for each time people tell me we can’t afford Medicare for All or free college and pull this bullshit we would at least have Medicare for All. I’m done with people saying we can’t afford something that we actually needed.
Farron is super right here…
fun fact… We have close to a dozen air craft carriers that can launch hundreds of air vehicles of so many different types…
The next most powerful military has like 1 air craft carrier that can only use helicoptors lol.
We are pretty over kill when it comes to military power…
Republicans and Trump himself don’t even care about Trumptards. That’s a fact now!
At the very least give the 80 billion to NASA, at least it’ll be amazing for humanity in the long term
Any suggestions for a name space exploration is the ultimate pipe dream
Hell, 80 billion for NOAA. We could do ocean exploration too! Or 40billion for each would keep them solvent for YEARS.
Why don’t they call it a ‘Giveway’ to the military, a term dumbass right wingers like to use? There’s nothing more satisfying than endless war, blowing things up and killing they say. It says so in the Bible.
I hate you. I thought I had a hair on my screen. FU
The military is the real welfare queens.
Well played hair man, well played.
Let’s be honest, anytime there’s a bill that can help out the american people, politicians begin to lose their minds.
brandon williams Or drag their fucking feet.
brandon williams it’s called the war economy and that weapons was made so they can buy weapons from the gun manufacturers
It’s that or loose their jobs folks. We don’t pay the bills…donors do.
I think trump is giving money to the military because planning to go to war with North Korea. He’s already said “Fire and Fury” and “Rocket Man.” Trump sounds serious about war.
Yea he clearly wants a war. He just needs to find someone to start it for him and then act like he didn’t want any of it. Which he will do and then say we aren’t safe enough and put more money in stupid amounts of bull crap.
$700 billion for the military. But when a serviceman goes back to civil life, will his combat injuries be considered as pre-existing condition? And I am not even funny. Everything is possible as it goes now…
More proof that the current US government likes screwing the average citizen and more proof that they don’t see soldiers as people.
We could at least thank Farron and his fellow Ring of Fire personalities for teaching us that the Republicans don’t care and vote for anyone who campaigns for things like medicare for all, higher taxes for the rich, more regulations to protect the environment and more regulations to protect the average citizen.
That’s because the lying politicians have health care coverage. Time for a revolution. The military needs the money for all the oil and gas proxy wars Americans are dying in.
Americans should put great value on having a healthy, strong, well educated society. America will be eating the dust of most of the civilized world if these things are not made a priority. The current administration does not seem to care as long as they can get policies passed that will make their lives better, but not America as a whole. We as the people should be demanding what is best for all of us, not voting in people who are looking out for themselves and a privileged few. Great healthcare for all is a necessity not a luxury.
I’ve been saying the same thing for years. We could cut our military in half, still be the dominate military power in the world, and have money we could spend on healthcare, schools, paying off debts. And besides, what significant changes will that 80 billion bring to the military that the first 630 billion couldn’t do? If your military can’t succeed on that kind of budget, it’s not from a lack of funding. It’s either incompetence or a deliberate choice, and we all know it’s the latter. Not that the former is an appealing answer either.
And it does make one concerned, it this merely to fuel the military-industrial complex, or is someone planning to conquer the world? Because the US is getting to the point where it could make a solid attempt at the latter.
All that money, and yet, the troops dont have proper equipment. I got a few soldier friends, adn they were always telling me how they had to spend their own money to get better boots, body armour, equipment and pay for postage. I always boggle. What part of “Support the troops” and the military spending, outrageously bloated, and it’s not trickling down to the people it’s supposed to serve?!
True. The MIC dictates the govt.
The Republicans seem to care more about killing people then helping people.
Genin99
Didn’t you know? War is good for business, there is no pursuit holier then the acquisition of money for thyself.
Why single out republicans? Aside from the Carter years, democrats are little better. Obama ran out of bombs in Syria….
And yet they are “pro-life”
The defence industry makes a killing out of war. It’s big money for them.
So true. They’d rather kill the “bad guys ” than help their own citizens
Any democrat who vote for this needs to be removed from office. Why raise military spending when we are not in a war? Oops I forgot we have many undeclared ground conflicts we have to pay for. The US military is going to bankrupt America.
Military budget….how you gonna pay for it?
I call it offence budget we have to fund our proxy wars and wage war to make profit for the corporations.
This pisses me off. .like seriously, it is overly funded enough as it is.