Bad Budget Cuts
The budget cuts being put into effect soon are all wrong. The government should not be putting the cuts on the military the cuts should be on something else. The military needs that money for a number of things. The government is coming up with the plan to cut the military’s money, cut a large sum of soldiers, make it to where the country will not be able to be protected, and puts thousands of soldiers in trouble because of increases in healthcare and decreases in pay. A plan to cut the military budget has been made and will most likely be put into effect soon. A debt in the United States has been increasing for years so the government thinks the best way to get it to come down some is to make cuts and use the money
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The military needs this money to maintain order, equipment, and keep soldiers in the fight. Soldiers will be pulled out of the military because of this cut. They plan to shrink the military down to levels it has not seen in seventy-four years (Hicks 1). The soldiers being cut though are the active duty soldiers. These are the people who are serving right now and they are being forced out of the military and all they get is their last pay check and go back to civilian life. They plan to cut the army from 570,000 soldiers to 490,000-420,000 soldiers by 2019 (V, EnBrook, and Locker 1). This is not a suitable amount of soldiers to protect the United States. There is a high chance of war because of what is happening in Ukraine at the moment and the government is deciding to cut the military’s budget. Army leaders said the service could not adequately protect the country and fight abroad at the 420,000 soldier level (V, EnBrook, and Locker 1). “The army can barely live with 450,000 soldiers,” said Maren Leed (V, EnBrook, and Locker 2). History has showed the United States has been in substantial conflicts every twenty years (V, EnBrook, and Locker 2). Some soldiers have a hard enough time as it is the pay checks for the military are not big unless you are in a Sargent position or in a general’s position. The soldiers being cut will have an even harder time with all the jobs being taken up. Generals are also being cut not all of
Furthermore, the new budget is not focusing on keeping America a superpower, which is making our country look weak. Downsizing our military forces at the rate we are is going to put our military back down to pre world war two times. “Army alone will lose about 15,000 troops”
The first reason that military spending should be cut down on is that it takes away the focus from other incredibly important areas. One of the many areas that loose focus because of the large amount of military spending is the education sector. Primary education should be one of the main concerns of our government. Not only because it is where we teach our children about the world, but also it gives them the chance for a better future. They do not learn this from the military. The main reason that education is a better investment is because in the long run education helps the economy grow, since it creates a more skillful labor force. The amount of spending that goes into the military takes away from the potential of a long-term benefit to our
As if the 401.3 billion wasn't astronomical enough there is more money hidden within the budget that will go towards the same purposes, which is pulling those funds from civilians. The total of funds that were found hidden within the budget totaled to an actual figure of about 596.1 billion dollars (Higgs Pg. 3) with a breakdown of it as follows (in billions of dollars):
Donald Trump’s audacious administration is actually proposing a budget for 2018 that increases military spending by 54 billion dollars!(4) To make this feasible massive cuts have to be made to the detriment of bureaucratic organizations such as: the department of education, the EPA, department of labor, housing and urban development department. To give that number a frame of reference, the estimated cost of providing tuition free public universities under the 2016 Sanders plan is approximately 75 billion dollars.(5) We already have nearly eight hundred military bases around the world, do we really need to allocate more resources to this department in which we already have the ability to act unilaterally on a global scale with impunity?(6) Or are there other departments in our society that could benefit more from an influx in funding?
The sequestration that the Obama administration proposed would leave America with the smallest ground force it has ever seen since 1940s, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in history. The Republican Party adamantly opposed the impending defense spending cuts, stating that they were severe and that it would be a disaster to our national security, a decline of our nation’s defense industrial base, and would result in the layoff of more than 1 million skilled workers.
Growing spending and debt are undermining economic growth and may push the nation into a financial crisis in coming years. Edward then stated that the solution to these problems is to downsize every federal department by cutting the most harmful programs. This study proposes specific cuts that would reduce federal spending by almost one-quarter and balance the budget in less than a decade."
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and that will help lower the defense spending by almost $1 trillion over the next decade. The congress is realizing that they need to do some restructuring and have already begun rearranging the military budget in response to austerity. Congress conjured up a $630 billion defense appropriations bill that made plans to reduce civilian and contractor personnel by 5 percent over the next five years and in return ramp up advanced weapons programs, including drones, bombers and missiles says The Washington Post. The American Conservative
The military is something that has been a bit costly for a while, the US according to a graph given by Peter G. Peterson spends an average of more than seven
The amount of money spent during the Iraq War is a number that is not easily understood. The initial cost of the Iraq War has totaled up to be somewhere around 1.7 trillion dollars as of 2013 (2). While this is a staggering number, it has only become worse. A study has shown that the expenses over the next four decades could total up to be around 6 trillion dollars not to mention the interest rate which could add another 4 trillion (2). These numbers do not even make a dent in what the U.S. is paying. In addition to the initial cost, there is also a price to be paid to the veterans that served our country. A 2011 study found U.S. medical and disability claims for veterans after a decade of war totaled $33 billion. In 2013, that number had risen to $134.7 billion (2). The War in Iraq brought devastation to their
This article is speaking about the possible government shutdown that threatens us every time the nation has to renew its budget for the fiscal year. Congress approved a resolution that would extend the government funding for another week while they try to wrap up budget negotiations. President Trump is expected to sign the weeklong stoppage gap spending bill which expires on 5 may 2017. There are still 11 remaining bills to pass in regards to the budget. The article talks about democrats seeking to increase domestic spending limits in exchange for the White House increasing defense budgets.
The Department of Defense (DOD) was recently approved a budget of $582.7 billion for 2017. $112.1 billion of this budget was specifically to “develop and procure equipment, technology, and capabilities…” [1].
Having the proper number of Airmen is one of the major keys for success for the Air Force. The Air Force has to release Airmen each time Congress makes a budget cut for the Air Force. Just last year there was a propose in AirForceTimes stating “Air Force may cut 10,000 airmen if budget cuts return.” These 10,00 airmen are vital for the Air Force mission. This only adds a toll on those that don’t get kicked out of the Air Force. Many Airmen state to be tired according to special report by Fox News Politics. Many of the active airmen are tired of working long shifts and deploying several times in a short amount of time. They are not getting quality time with their families which only adds more stress upon our airmen. A solution I would propose is to present this issue to Congress. Show evidence to Congress that we need the funds in order to maintain the best Air Force in the world. Brining in the funds will allow for more airmen to stay and to allow new airmen to relieve the stress and over work the airmen were doing. After 25 years of non-stop deployments to the Middle East, airmen are tired. “Our retention rates are pretty low. Airmen are tired and burnt out,” said Staff Sgt. Tyler Miller, with the 28thAircraft Maintenance Squadron based at Ellsworth. Expanding the work force of the Air Force will only allow for room for new airmen and better work quality from our
That person may say that the current budget for the military is needed because it pays the employees salaries and it is also needed because we need more vehicles in the military to have a greater defense. However, this is not the case. The United States currently has twenty aircraft carriers in commision. Twenty aircraft carriers for one country is an astonishing amount. The rest of the world combined currently has twenty-one in commision (aircraft carrier wiki).
Perhaps the most important constitutional obligation assigned to Congress by Article I, Section 8 is to raise and support an Army, and provide and maintain a Navy.” The act authorizes defense spending for the year. When the act is vetoed, a large amount of money is provided to the military retirement system. About $38 billion is provided in military spending for Overseas Contingency Operations. This is money that is used to prepare the military.
Military spending makes up 54% of America’s annual government allotted budget, which equals out to $598.5 billion dollars.