Military spending and Manufacturing (more economics/charts)

[CabCurious]

(updated facts and charts on the economy kept @ http://www.democraticunderground.com/125170175 )

MILITARY SPENDING

To put this first part in perspective, our total government spending is about $3.6 trillion, with approx $1t in annual IOUs.

Of that $3.6 trillion, the base defense budget is about $739 billion. When we include nuclear arms (under the Energy Dept and other budgets) and payments for War Debts and veterans, the total goes to around $1.2 trillion for defense.

That's approx 1/3 of our total spending.

When we compare this against discretionary spending (i.e. removing entitlement federal spending such as on Social Security and Medicare), that proportion increases even further. In fairness, I'm not sure of the precise veteran payouts vs other debts, not am I sure if this chart accounts for that specifically.



We heavily outspend the entire planet on military



MANUFACTURING VS FINANCE/SERVICES

Many of us talk about Wall Street vs Main Street. We've heard many reputable pundits emphasizing how the FINANCE economy is increasingly dominating over a REAL economy. I think we all shrugged our shoulders over the last 30 years as the economy shifted into information and various services, but the implications of this became very clear to many of us in the 2007-2008 crash.

Where's the beef? We can't all be IT and finance service workers. This is not sustainable. It makes us vulnerable. Our economy can't survive if it's primarily about finance, services, real estate, and insurance.

This makes profits increasingly about the 1% instead of about growing a middle class. We can't survive that way.






CORPORATE


WAGES AS % OF ECONOMY

[2on2u]

1. Seems somewhat unsustainable to me, but yes, I do feel safer and much more

threatened if that is possible.

[CabCurious]

2. I have two simple beliefs on this

1. If a society cannot survive a dramatic reduction in its military, then it will eventually collapse.

2. If a society's economy is driven primarily by military and "services," then it will eventually collapse.

Most of us have heard Eisenhower's warning about the "military industrial complex."

We didn't heed his warning and now we have a globalized military industrial complex and globalized financial complex that basically dominates everything. Meanwhile, the public is picking its nose and trying to filter the noise from a completely commercialized media/information entertainment complex.

Yet we seem to think change is going to come from KONY-style facebook shares and message-lost OWS protests?

[2on2u]

3. Wouldn't it be cool if you could purchase something either in the stores or at flea markets that

would reduce military spending? Funny thought I know. With the things we have done in South America it is a wonder they aren't sending drones over here to look for "targets".

[CabCurious]

4. finding ways to give vets and soldiers REAL jobs is definitely a solution

There are many good people (and entire families) in the military who need more opportunities outside the military.

This includes a lot of minorities who see the military as a "way out" with training and educational opportunities. While I respect a lot of people on the left have reservations about military "types," we can just take a casual look at the military service records of Congress and see that the Democrats have A LOT MORE people who have served than the Republicans.

So while going into a store and buying something to reduce military spending may seem funny, the truth is that it may be somewhat as simple as helping them get into American manufacturing/engineering or into other public service (teaching, emergency services, civil engineering, etc).

[2on2u]

5. A website for vets, filled with seemingly non-existant jobs.... you could do it, OR DU could

have a forum specifically for vets seeking opportunities for themselves and their families. You could call it "A Way In" rather than a way out.

The economy in La is doing ok imho, and for people who might be willing to relocate it could offer some answers.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Job/new-iberia-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,10_IC1150001.htm

[CabCurious]

7. I may be wrong...

But my sense is that there's already rather quality job banks and counseling and other opportunities setup.

It just seems to me that to dramatically reduce military spending would mean base closures and extremely large layoffs. It could mean putting entire companies out of business, as well.

We'd need something big in terms of tax breaks and business start-up or redirection. Entire communities would be at stake.

[2on2u]

10. Our infrastructure is falling apart but you know how much people hate the stimulus program

they would rather have bridges collapse under them than put people to work. The real defense should be against our rails, roads bridges and grid crumbling rather than some boogeyman in the desert.

[CabCurious]

11. now THAT is the kind of redeployment of this expert labor that we need...

Can you imagine what the Army's engineers could accomplish if we unleashed them on our infrastructure????

Wasn't the military engineers who had to step in after Katrina because they had more accurate information and better skills?

[CabCurious]

12. these people can build entire bridges and cities in like 10 minutes or whatever!

[earthside]

6. The largest 'welfare' program in human history.

Let's be honest.

Probably eighty percent of U.S. military spending is to create 'make-work' jobs and the resulting social benefits, and provide corporate welfare to 'defense' contractors.

The actual defense of the nation could easily be done for $200 billion a year.

Progressives and liberals ought to reframe the argument about military spending in those terms.

But, of course, there is still such military worship in this country that it is going to be very hard to ever get this spending under control.

Imagine the dent that could be put in the federal deficit if the money now being wasted on overseas military bases and on unneeded weapons programs could be redirected into infrastructure and, yes, into productive private sector enterprises like green energy and renewed manufacturing domestically.

Honestly, though, neither Pres. Obama or Rmoney have made any indications of moving this direction (in the case of Rmoney, completely the opposite). I will be so, so disappointed if Pres. Obama and Congressional Democrats cave-in and exempt military spending cuts from sequestration ... but once again, they probably will.

[jsr]

8. It's also the most selective welfare program

Only people with clearance or connections need apply.

[CabCurious]

9. That's exactly it... much of it comes back down to jobs

And we need to remember that when we propose cuts to military spending. That causes panic.

It's not all Halliburton and merc types, either.

I think closing overseas military bases is probably the best low-hanging fruit.

I am also disappointed that no progress has been made in the last four years, but I cannot reasonably expect a first-term, black President to step in after GWB and start talking about things like gun control and military reduction. But the discussion MUST happen.

We simply cannot sustain this.

[Populist_Prole]

13. Excellent. Saved for future reference.

Thanks....and K&R.