Posted on 12/05/2012 1:18:22 PM PST by Ron C.
The Pentagon said Wednesday it is now preparing for billions of dollars in budget cuts should President Obama and congressional Republicans fail to reach an alternative plan by Jan. 1.
The move breaks from earlier statements that no plans were being made a signal that difficulties reaching a deal are beyond the public stalemate or so-called political theater and that Washington officials are bracing for the worst.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the Office of Management and Budget instructed the department to begin preparing for the roughly $500 billion cuts over the next 10 years a situation resulting from both sides failing earlier to reach a more measured approach to cutting the countrys roughly $16 trillion deficit.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The department of education can’t account for over half of it’s funding every year.
Health and human services has over a trillion dollar budget, but no let’s not trim some of that fat.
There are dozens of long obsolete federal commissions who’s commissioners each earn a six or more figure salary for doing absolutly nothing productive.
All of these useless oxygen theiving congress critters and their collective staffs should go without pay before the military sees one dollar of cuts IMO.
“Pentagon now preparing for massive cuts as fiscal negotiations appear stalled”
Considering the direction in which the military has been going during the last four years — women on submarines, gay marriage at West Point, and probably much more — I’d just as soon see the military “cut back” for now.
Put things on ice for the next four years. This assumes that at some point in the near-distant future, the Republicans will regain control over the government, and then restore the military to a “pre-Obama status quo”. That’s what I’d -like- to believe, but I’m not optimistic that that’s actually going to happen...
You know that, and I know that, but unfortunately, the media will place all of the blame on the mean, evil Republicans who don't want to raise taxes on the rich.....and the sheeple will believe every word of it.
So? If GOP caves then the Dems win by getting what they wanted. If GOP stands and gets blame, then any possible change will not happen until 2014 and then the Dems will have to win to take over. I'd rather make them win the 2014 House than give them what they want now.
“Why is it that the ONLY government department who’s funding is mandated by the Constitution...”
Duh, because it’s the one that makes Pubs look like hypocrites.
By the way, defense isn’t “mandated.” Empowered is more like it. The Constitution exists in part to provide for a common defense, according to itself. But we don’t need to use it. It’s just there if we need it. There was no standing army in the early years of the Republic.
Certainly what we have now is not necessary for defense. I don’t know what you call it, but Constitutional defense ain’t it. World police is closest, I guess.
World events will likely overtake any of that, and all too soon. We have a world headed toward global conflict in the not distant future - so it is not a time to scale back our military.
Yes, we have thousands upon thousands of government employees doing nothing really useful.
Whether we (or the Democrats) like it or not, we can't continue to support such nonsense. We have a major world conflict already underway, whether the news media covers it as such is irrelevant. It's upon the world, and will continue to escalate with ever increasing urgency.
I expect the Drive-bys will hammer Republicans for not following Obama into High Tax Nirvana as a solution to present ills.
I say, let em chatter. Fewer Americans buy what they’re selling every day.
This president has created the crisis. He owns it.
“Dont sweat it, our military will defend us. Of course, well have to wait for them to come back from all over the rest of the world, but it shouldnt take too long.”
I know that was /s on your part.
I’ve participated in many an exercise where we had 24 hours to ‘bug out’ from wherever we were to other locales in Europe or back to the States.
I’m pretty sure today’s military can’t do it in 24 hours, what with the ‘boys’ packing up their makeup kits and all that chit. *Rolleyes*
*SMIRK* I LOATHE what MY military has become!
This debacle could have been avoided if Boehner et al hadn’t caved back in 2011.
“Certainly what we have now is not necessary for defense.”
You sound like one of those ron paul isolationist types.
Isolationism is not a sound policy, nor is having a smaller military.
Actually a pre-clinton status quo.
Total ban on gays
Return to pre-1992 troop / equipment levels.
“Isolationism is not a sound policy, nor is having a smaller military”
I won’t argue the first point, because that would be pointless. But you don’t think it could be smaller, even? Or must we keep finding Iraqs and Afghanistans to invade forever?
I have a cheaper solution. If people attacks us, ...Bomb them back to where they started (and many still live), the dark ages!
Obamas Communist Method.
I agree with that.
I’ve been saying since 2001 that we should have nuked the savages.
Every major muzzie population center, religious sites, and known terrorist hideouts such as tora bora should have been vaporized within 45 minutes of the second tower being hit.
No.
The military should not be smaller. Even with our superior technology, a smaller military would relegate us to being on perpetual defense thus MORE likely to be in more conflicts not less.
We need to be back to pre- 1992 drawdown levels in troops and equipment.
Post WW1 drawdown saw us totally unprepared for WW2, and our troops lacking adequate equipment and training got slaughtered at Kasserine Pass.
Post WW2 drawdown saw the 400 men of TF Smith being thrown into battle and quickly overrun because of the lack of adequate equipment.
Post Korea drawdown brought us the Ia Drang valley where once again our troops didn’t have what they needed.
The post Vietnam drawdown caused the soviets (and pretty much everyone else) in 1979 to view us as weak. In November 1979, our embassy in tehran got sacked and a month later the soviets strolled into afghanistan.
The post Cold War drawdown brought us a military that was totally unprepared for 9/11 and what followed in the months following.
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