Prior to 2001, the military industrial complex had a problem. No more perma-enemy since the fall of the Soviet Union to demagogue against, and more importantly to leech money from the American public for. No more wars, no more need for warriors. This was their fear. So they much prefer to have a boogieman out on the loose that they can fundraise with.

Now fully 55% of our entire national budget goes to the giant money sinkhole called the DOD. Not to mention the black budget money suckage that is intel.

Meanwhile so-called “entitlement” programs (ie. money for real Americans here at home) is a pittance. Just remember that all the blithering you hear about spending on Medicare and Social Security — both of those COMBINED make up LESS than 6% of the total national budget. (And none of this covers the Enron accounting tricks the Bush Administration engaged in like “off-budget financing” for the two wars it got us into.)

We seriously need to get our priorities in order, before frankly, there's nothing left for the DOD to defend here at home.

For more detailed information on this, visit the website of the National Priorities Project a non-partisan research group, and read their analysis of budgetary spending here:

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Publications/...

Page 7 has a handy pie chart that puts this little problem in stark relief.

Prior to 2001, the military industrial complex had a problem. No more perma-enemy since the fall of the Soviet Union to demagogue against, and more importantly to leech money from the American public for. No more wars, no more need for warriors. This was their fear. So they much prefer to have a boogieman out on the loose that they can fundraise with.

Now fully 55% of our entire national budget goes to the giant money sinkhole called the DOD. Not to mention the black budget money suckage that is intel.

Meanwhile so-called “entitlement” programs (ie. money for real Americans here at home) is a pittance. Just remember that all the blithering you hear about spending on Medicare and Social Security — both of those COMBINED make up LESS than 6% of the total national budget. (And none of this covers the Enron accounting tricks the Bush Administration engaged in like “off-budget financing” for the two wars it got us into.)

We seriously need to get our priorities in order, before frankly, there’s nothing left for the DOD to defend here at home.

For more detailed information on this, visit the website of the National Priorities Project a non-partisan research group, and read their analysis of budgetary spending here:

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Publications/NPP_Security_Spending_Primer.pdf

Page 7 has a handy pie chart that puts this little problem in stark relief.