Why Do We Spend Billions on the National Security State While We Let Detroit Go Bankrupt?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/why-do-we-spend-billions-national-security-state-while-we-let-detroit-go-bankrupt



The existence of a secret US budget, amounting to a well-financed shadow government, used to spy on American citizens and monitor their daily activities, was always derisively consigned to insane conspiracy theorists. After recent revelations by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, called a traitor and being forced to hide from the Obama Administration in Russia, the existence of this budget is no longer in question. Snowden has smoked out the details of the secret budgets used by the intelligence community, known as the “Black Budget.”

The reported amount of this budget is approximately $52.6 billion. These funds are in addition to the congressionally-approved budgets of the Armed Forces and the Department of Defense of $526.6 billion dollars for a total of more than half a trillion dollars. According to the National Priorities project:

“In the Obama administration 2014 fiscal year, the administration is seeking a $526.6 billion budget for the Department of Defense, not including war funding or nuclear weapons activities at the Department of Energy.”

According to the Washington Post, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA) and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) receive nearly 68% of the black budget. During a peace-time economy, the budgets of the five intelligence agencies have grown exponentially while urban cities and social services have dwindled. For example, the CIA budget was increased to $14.7 billion dollars, a 56% increase since 2004. The NSA budget for domestic and international spying has increased to $10.8 billion dollars or 53% since 2004. The NRO, the office purportedly responsible for designing, building and operating the country’s imagery satellites increased its budget to $10.3 billion dollars or 12% increase since 2004. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGIA) that provides imagery and map-based intelligence increased its budget to $4.9 billion dollars or an increase of 108% since 2004. Finally, in 2004 the General Defense Intelligence Program that conducts, collects and documents human and technical intelligence and media management within the DoD increased its budget to $4.4 billion dollars.

[Clown is Down]

1. Why should national tax payers bail out local incompetents?

It not like this is a natural disaster that people had no control over.

[Katashi_itto]

2. I didnt realize the National Security Complex was so competent that we should fund it.

Or that NAFTA had nothing to do with Detroit's demise. Thank you for your insight!

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

3. Well done!!

[Katashi_itto]

6. :)

[SugarShack]

33. :)

[Clown is Down]

8. NAFTA has been in effect for over 20 years!

Why should the Fed have to bail out a city that couldn't adapt with the times?

[Katashi_itto]

9. Seriously? We now have to explain macroeconomics to you?

or the various policies Detroit tried to enact?

[Clown is Down]

13. Yes please explain...

How macroeconomics only effected Detroit for the last 20 years, and how, the "various policies" were not incompetence if they didn't work?

[Katashi_itto]

35. I suggest you go read. Keep in mind what drives city revenue.

[hack89]

32. How come NAFTA didn't affect cities like Boston, Chicago, NY

and all the other cities that are thriving economically?

Looks like some cities adapted and others didn't.

[Katashi_itto]

36. Everything was affected. In some places the effect was amplified.

Do to the nature of the prevalent industry of that region.

Since NAFTA went into effect. 92-94000 factories have been lost overseas.

[hack89]

37. Detroit has lost 60% of its population since 1950

it was in decline well before NAFTA.

One major blow it never recovered from was the 1967 riots and the resultant white flight

Of the 1967 riots, politician Coleman Young, Detroit's first black mayor, wrote in 1994:

The heaviest casualty, however, was the city. Detroit's losses went a hell of a lot deeper than the immediate toll of lives and buildings. The riot put Detroit on the fast track to economic desolation, mugging the city and making off with incalculable value in jobs, earnings taxes, corporate taxes, retail dollars, sales taxes, mortgages, interest, property taxes, development dollars, investment dollars, tourism dollars, and plain damn money. The money was carried out in the pockets of the businesses and the white people who fled as fast as they could. The white exodus from Detroit had been prodigiously steady prior to the riot, totally twenty-two thousand in 1966, but afterwards it was frantic. In 1967, with less than half the year remaining after the summer explosion—the outward population migration reached sixty-seven thousand. In 1968 the figure hit eighty-thousand, followed by forty-six thousand in 1969.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_Detroit#1950s_job_losses

There are many reasons for Detroit's collapse - it has been a long, drawn out 40 year process with many bad decisions being made along the way.

[Bluenorthwest]

21. Sounds like Damascus to me, and all DC is drooling to spend our cash on their

troubles. Why is that, exactly? Are they adapting to the times? No. Are they facing a natural disaster? No. Man made quarrels, and in we rush. Explain that.

[RKP5637]

12. +++ 1,000 +++ n/t

[Scuba]

15. Where were you when Wall Street was getting bailed out?

[Clown is Down]

22. I wasn't a member then.

I didn't agree with that, or General Motors, or all the airlines for that matter.

[Scuba]

24. And NYC in the 70's?

[Clown is Down]

25. I was about 13 in 1979...

So my interest in politics was limited at that time.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

29. You sound like you've had your nose in the Hajek book(I don't mean Selma)!!!

Here is the proven case of trickle down economics actually working,
If you see nothing it's because I've linked incorrectly.I was about 19 in 1979 so my grounding in computers was limited at the time. The filmclip is of Mr.Creosote in the movie "the meaning of Life"
[link:

|

P.s. I hope this link works.

[Odious justice]

4. Compromise: hire the unemployed in Detroit

To spy on rest of country. Problem solved.

[xchrom]

5. !

[Vinnie From Indy]

27. LOL !!!

Bravo!

Cheers!

[sendero]

7. There is money to be made..

... feeding the war machine. Saving cities? Not so much.

The simple rule we all learned a long time ago ALWAYS applies. Follow the money.

[RKP5637]

11. Exactly! Big buck investors investing in US failed cities, NO,

no so much ... but investing in the MIC for the war machine, big buck returns. Many of these people don't give a fuck about the US, other than as an ATM paying out to them. It is gross and ugly. Yep, as you say, "Follow the money."

[Laelth]

10. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[Scuba]

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

... just what is it the defense budget is defending?

[xchrom]

18. +1

[90-percent]

20. I'm plagerizing your post

put it up on FB. Thanks for your thoughts!

-90% Jimmy

[Scuba]

23. You're welcome. It's a question I've often asked, and the only true answer I've received is ....

... "Protecting corporate profits".

[fasttense]

16. It's just how capitalism works or doesn't work.

Since we can't actually help people,( bailing out banks and corporations is just fine though) the enormous wealth of our nation has to go somewhere. So, it goes to spying on people in an effort to control them and keep them from rioting when they are hungry and homeless.

Capitalism always, always crashes. It's called business cycles among those who are blind to capitalism's destructiveness. When a crash happens, instead of helping those who suffer the worse - the middle class and poor, we bailout huge wealthy corporations and their uber rich owners and stock holders. We let the middle class and poor sink or swim. We let the magic of the invisible hand of the market do it's dirty work on the masses of people while giving huge handouts or welfare to the wealthy. Since now you have huge swaths of people in very desperate conditions, you have to watch them very, very carefully to ensure they don't riot, revolt or step out of line.

So with the constant crashing of the economy under capitalism a huge spy operation is required in order to force those who suffer the most from a destructive economic system to sing it's praises or remain silent.

[Octafish]

17. USA bailed out NYC

Great post, xchrom.

Secret Government means Secret Power with no oversight, no accountability, no responsibility, no awareness of who benefits and is held only by insiders -- totally un-democratic and un-American.

[woo me with science]

34. +1000000

[safeinOhio]

19. The only ones getting bailed out are the

bond holders. All investment have risk, but we can only bail out those that take the risk. Not the workers, schools, art institutes or the safety and well being of the people. This has to be true, because a republican governor approved it.

[Johnny Ready]

26. I heard in Detroit it's Legal to Get High, I Drove Thru Michigan Now I know Why.

The question might be where are we going next? What will be the result of the disclosure of information like this you have posted? It is accurate and true and like any other action it will have an equal and opposite reaction.

You have an interesting point that seems to be applicable to any of the larger cities now in financial crisis. Where did the property tax revenue surplus of 2005, 2006, and 2007 go? Where is the money the cities enjoyed collecting as a result of sky rocketing property values, now? How did they choose to spend it?

Question: Which presidential candidate will be able to avoid this labeling as an insider, who knew? Or will it matter by then?

[TheDeputy]

28. Michigan is the most gorgeous state in the Union.

Too bad it has Detroit to contend with. I think the military could use parts of Detroit for training. The engineering units could use their bulldozers to knock down vacant blocks. The city could eminent domain homes where there is only a resident or two on a street. Then tear down everything on the street and shut it down. The city won't have to pay for street maintenance, sewer, etc for a whole street and will save money. This could help Detroit long term.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

30. Tear down all these homes!!!

That would mean public funds go to pay for private homes being demolished!! Who by chance owns these homes? Could it be the Banks! Might they be foreclosed homes? I'm from another country but it seems odd that corporations can walk away from their obligations like this! Maybe I'm wrong but I will listen to anyone that knows what the situation is.....

[kelliekat44]

31. Don't ask us. Ask the President: www.Whitehouse.gov nt