if this is true we have another libertarian who doesn't understand the proper role of government and the fallacy of cutting military expenditures, all the more at this time with the Afghan situation, to balance the budget. Secondly, amendment on balancing budget HOW? By cutting the armed forced down to size in the era of Bin Laden and Ahmadinejad? And one could "balance budgets" by increasing the fiscal pressure, and that is NOT the constitutional way to balance budgets.
I repeat: I could be wrong, and I would like to read the full text of Paul's statements, but I do hope he's not turning into his lunatic father. Compromise with the Dhimmicrats my @§§
As a veteran, I fully appreciate the need to have a strong military. Not only do we need a strong military, but the strongest. You cannot have a strong military without a strong economy. If it comes to a decision between nation building and America’s economic survival, I will take the latter. I supported Bush’s decision to liberate Iraq and the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan; however, it is time to bring the troops home and stop the money flow to Iraq. We are NEVER going to pacify Afghanistan. It is always going to be the wild west.
US out of Europe. That’s an easy one. We’ve propped up European socialism long enough. Let them pay their own way. They’re big boys.
Bring the soldiers home.
If Korea feels threatened, let them build their army up to what they feel they need.
If Germany feels threatened, let them build their own defense.
Let Japan build their own army.
Paul isn’t the problem. Sacred cows in the defense budget are. There is waste, fraud, and abuse in the Defense Dept, and none of that is protecting the US or American interests.
He is right, but *only* if the cuts are done intelligently.
1) The “big three” of federal spending are Defense (23%), Social Security (20%), and Medicaid and Medicare (19%). That is 62% of the federal budget.
2) Social Security can be intelligently and quickly curtailed, with a minimum of harm to people, with a simple process.
a) SS was originally designed as a retirement system for minimum wage workers with no other form of retirement. To return to this is the end goal. Nobody else should pay for, or get benefits from, SS. So stop accepting new people in the system, unless they are minimum wage workers.
b) Direct “means testing” is off the table, because it has ferocious opposition. So instead of restoring the Bush tax cuts, offer those in the means testing zone a deal: slightly *more* (relative) money in tax deductions than they would get by accepting a SS check. This would leave enough money in the SS system to make it much more solvent.
c) Pay back those only in the system for several years a tax deductions deal as well, to pay them back for their contributions and move them out of the system.
2) Medicaid needs to be paid in lump sum to the 3,140 counties in the US, based on their population. A fixed amount, outside of disasters. Any more money than that, and they have to pay for it. How it is spent is up to them, with some auditing.
Medicare needs to be substantially privatized, with the idea of getting the federal government out of the health care provision business. It won’t be easy, but it will be better for everyone in the long run.
3) Defense needs intelligent cutbacks. To start with, US military personnel are in some 100 countries around the world, though they only need to be in a dozen. Unless they are actively fighting, they need to come home, as this is expensive without achieving much of anything.
Both the Air Force and Navy are obsessed with having just a few, extremely high quality planes and ships. They must rediscover the idea that quantity, low maintenance, low cost and durability are just as important as the latest technical gizmo. While having advanced bombers is good, most bombing runs are made with antique B-52s.
And finally, the military not fighting, in a sour economy, still want high pay, but we cannot afford high pay. We don’t need to pay for married junior NCOs with children, and we don’t need for them to travel to other countries. Sad facts of life.
It is ludicrous to presume that the none defense part of the budget is filed with waste fraud and inefficiency but that the Defense budge is a model of efficiency with nothing in it that does not fulfill its mission. There must be something in the defense budget that can and should be cut.
Sounds like Rand Paul is just another
dope-smoking anarchist like his dad.Nuts do not fall far from their tree
The military is mandated by the Constitution.
I’d scrap the UN before touching anything else. Then I’d sell off parcels of land that the UN building occupies and make some more money.
There’s no doubt that there is plenty of waste and mismanagement at the Pentagon. When the Navy has more admirals than ships, something, and somebody, has to go. The military budget should not be above scrutiny. A lot of waste could be cut and funding increased in areas that need it, like caring for military families when the member is deployed.
I’m sure there’s a ton of fat that can be cut from the military. EVERYTHING...EVERYTHING has to be put on the chopping block..NO SACRED COWS.
Folks need to stop and think about why Rand Paul announced his candidacy on Rachel Maddow’s show, and why it was such a love-fest.
Until there is a bill to cut military spending and we have had a chance to read it, this whole argument is pure leftard gibberish designed to take the heat off their illegal activity and chip away at the weak sisters.
We need to stay focused on ending the dreams of the regime. I do hope to see legislation to defund the Department of Education and the EPA along with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
There need to be no sacred cows, but there are Constitutional Mandates that must be funded and socialist crap that has to be excised. The limitation on the Constitutional mandates needs to be based on what we can pay for not what we want.
the US Government must consider how to cut money from its bloated budget
1. cut the salaries of all politicians by 100,000.00.
2 cut the number of federal employess by 50%.
3. put Obummer on a budget, if he exceeds his budget he has to pay it out of his own pocketbook.
4. end ObummerCare
5. end the stimulus that is unspent.
6. imprison all Dumbocratis politicians and place them in a cold place and let them freeze their genitals off.
seize all the assets of Dumbocratic politicians Reid, Pelosi Kerry and et al
7. close the government for 6 months the national debt is resolved and the do nothings in DC can do nothing.
Signed
We The People
I have no doubt there is plenty of money to be saved over at the Pentagon.
That said, there are a number of other Federal Agencies, and pseudo-agencies (headed by all of those Czars) that I want to see disassembled long before we go after the Pentagon.
What situation is that?
Sending our heroic best to get killed or wounded for nothing?
THAT situation?
Cut everything including the military
The dipshit is just like his dad. Does not understand how military spending is determined. Unless you do a complete overhaul (read that surrender) of the National Security Strategy and National Military Strategy, reducing the missions assigned to the armed forces to the extreme, there is very little you can cut.
I agree with Rand Paul. There is plenty of fat in the defense budget, just like every other part of the federal government. The goal should be to spend smart, not just spend a lot. JMO.