If we can't afford Medicare for our old folks, we can't afford a defense budget for everyone else.

[kentuck]

We cannot afford to pay $800 billion on defense gadgets if we cannot afford to take care of our old people. That's the choice we have to make. If we cut one, we are going to have to cut the other. Sound fair?

[porphyrian]

1. More than fair. n/t

[truebluegreen]

28. Ditto.

[WinkyDink]

2. Exactly. But of course, "defense" is merely to keep/increase national wealth, not to HELP Americans.

[leftstreet]

10. Not 'national' wealth - private wealth

Otherwise you're exactly right

[kathman-duzi]

14. Protecting off shore investments in property bank accounts and

the military industrial complex arming the world for profit.

[orpupilofnature57]

3. It did to this Republican, War General, President

[kathman-duzi]

16. Dire isn't it from the last reasonable gop President.

I haven't watched this in years thanks for the link. His warning is stronger and clearer than I remember. President Eisenhower would be run out of the republican party of today, a responsible leader, creative and reasonable.

[valerief]

4. If we don't give the Pentagon whatever they want, they'll attack us.

I think that's the problem.

[kentuck]

9. They are attacking us...

They are attacking the Medicare budget and no one ever questions their budget, only the Medicare budget. It's really about our priorities.

[KG]

5. the defense budget isn't for everyone else. it's for the MIC and to global financial interests

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. What the hell are we defending,.."our way of life"?

We want to eliminate all benefits and then hold ourselves up as an example to envy?

[Johonny]

7. just make medicare part of the defense budget.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. That's how the last minimum wage increase was passed

attached to a military supplemental - The "U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007".

Rethugs seemed to be wise about this now and stopped passing even a DOD budget.

[hay rick]

8. No military threat can ever be overexaggerated.

Our current military budget is roughly equal to the military spending of the next 14 highest spending nations COMBINED. 12 of those 14 nations are our allies. China has the second largest military budget, spending approximately 1/6 of what we spend.

The House Republicans just passed the National Security and Job Protection Act. This bill would exempt defense spending, which represents 50% of all discretionary spending, from sequestration- the across-the-board budget cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and scheduled to take effect at the beginning of 2013.

House Republicans love to wrap themselves in the flag but the truth is, their kind of patriotism supports the military establishment at the cost of impoverishing the American people.

[Scuba]

11. If we can't afford to educate our children, heal our sick or care for our elderly, just what ...

... is it the defense budget is defending?

[kentuck]

12. Most excellent question!

[kathman-duzi]

13. Excellent question and perfect for the campaign trail or

for the debates or for a Mitt Romney rally. Mitt would stumble around trying to protect the Industrial Military Complex that protects all his off shore accounts perhaps.

[magic59]

17. We the people have never needed the bloated defense budgets

The only ones who need it are multinational corporations and the rich elite who need their overseas bank accounts protected. Both do not pay their fair share of taxes so we the people must make up the difference. Its time to dismantle the military industrial complex.

[magic59]

18. We the people have never needed the bloated defense budgets

The only ones who need it are multinational corporations and the rich elite who need their overseas bank accounts protected. Both do not pay their fair share of taxes so we the people must make up the difference. Its time to dismantle the military industrial complex.

[nc4bo]

19. Damn straight! nm

[gblady]

20. the priorities of this country......

are so incredibly messed up!

[JeffHead]

21. If you include all the Black Ops (all the top secret stuff) it's well over a trillion

It's our biggest giveaway to the rest of the world. We spend so much on the military that other countries don't have to spend hardly anything. All the time knowing that if anything happens to them our bloated military will be there to defend them. I'm with Bill Maher on this one "Cut the military budget in half and see who the fuck invades us"

[on point]

22. Don't start talking about reducing the social safety net until AFTER you cut DOD 50%!

[DirkGently]

23. That's the problem with basing all our priorities on the same people making $

The main way our country is governed is by people with the ability to make large campaign donations deciding we need or don't need something, then instructing our "leaders" on what to do. This what "running government like a business" really means.

Wars and weaponry are immensely profitable. Keeping Americans healthy, not so much.

Too obvious to say, probably, but for some reason we don't seem to collectively get that.

[cr8tvlde]

24. It's a massive Jobs Plan ... The Lowly Peasants get survival wages to go secure foreign political

control for the large egos of Lords and Kings with inherited or stolen wealth. Very European. We just gave them new names ... Middle Class and The Beltway.

Like saying that Napoleon was protecting France or Ceasar was protecting Rome. Let us call it what it is ... Empire, not defense.

I like the Bill Maher quote...thing is no one wants to "invade" us. For what?

[pangaia]

25. No, No, No..

I STRONGLY disagree with that nut case idea. We should cut the military but NOT Medicare. :&gt )))))))))))))

Whooee.. football time...

[mbperrin]

26. I'm ready to ditch DOD altogether.

No idea what they do besides anger other people in the world.

THEN there would be plenty of money for actual people.

[Gregorian]

27. If only. What a dream come true that would be. Conservatives must think it sounds crazy.

Think of what the world would be like without that magnitude of counterproductive activity.