Defense Budget Needs To Be Cut

The chart above should make it clear to all Americans that the United States is spending far too much money on its defense (military) budget. In fact, the defense (military) budget of this country makes up about 45.7% of all the defense and military spending in the entire world. This is way out of whack!

If you add up the defense (military) budgets of all the countries that most in this country consider to be countries we should fear -- China (5.5%), Russia (3.3%), Asian & Australasian countries (7.0%), and Middle East & North African countries (5.0%) -- you would only get 20.8% of the world's total defense (military) spending. We could cut the American defense (military) in half, and we would still be spending significantly more than all of these countries combined.

The Republicans claim that government spending is out of control in this country. To cure that they want to drastically cut social programs, education, Medicare, and Social Security. This is ludicrous. To begin with, Social Security and much of Medicare are not even paid for out of the general budget -- but out of payroll taxes. Cutting them wouldn't help to balance the budget at all. Then we have the social programs and education. Even put together, these programs make up only a small part of the general budget spending. You cannot eliminate the national debt by cutting (or even eliminating) these programs.

So how can the deficit and national debt be significantly reduced. There are two things that could be done to eliminate the deficit and bring the national debt back under control. The first is to raise taxes on the richest 1% of Americans. This is just common sense, since they are the only Americans doing extremely well in this economy (making record breaking profits).

The second thing is to drastically cut the defense (military) portion of the federal budget. This is the largest portion of general budget spending by far, and the biggest culprit in deficit spending and growing the national debt. And much of it is unnecessary. There is no reason why we should be spending nearly half of all defense (military) spending in the world -- almost as much as all other countries combined. This is not sensible defense (military) spending -- it is paranoia (and corporate greed).

And those same Republicans who want to cut education, social programs, Social Security, and Medicare, also want to increase the defense (military) budget and give the richest 1% massive new tax cuts. That isn't just dumb, it is sheer insanity.

The truth is that this country could create many new jobs, help hurting Americans, fully fund education, and solve Medicare funding problems by just instituting a sensible tax policy and making significantly large cuts to the defense (military) budget -- and it would not put this country in danger. All other developed nations do this. Why can't we?

(NOTE -- Social Security has a different, but equally easy solution. Just remove the cap on FICA taxes , currently set at a little over $160,000. Why shouldn't the rich pay the same FICA percentage as working Americans?)