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In reply to the discussion: War is 60% of our budget. That's the ONLY place cuts need to come from. [View all]Coyotl
(15,262 posts)64. The Military-Leisure Golf Complex = officials are tee-ing off at taxpayer expense at hundreds
The Military-Leisure Golf Complex
Pentagon elites and high government officials are tee-ing off at taxpayer expense at hundreds of courses all over the planet.
April 11, 2008 | http://www.alternet.org/story/82009/the_military-leisure_golf_complex
Back in 1975, Senator William Proxmire (D-Wisconsin) decried the fact that the Department of Defense spent nearly $14 million each year to maintain and operate 300 military-run golf courses scattered across the globe. In 1996, the weekly television series America's Defense Monitor noted that "Pentagon elites and high government officials [were still] tee-ing off at taxpayer expense" at some "234 golf courses maintained by the U.S. armed forces worldwide." In the intervening twenty-one years, despite a modest decrease in the number of military golf courses, not much had changed. The military was still out on the links. Today, the military claims to operate a mere 172 golf courses worldwide, suggesting that over thirty years after Proxmire's criticisms, a modicum of reform has taken place. Don't believe it.
In actuality, the military has cooked the books. For example, the Department of Defense reported that the U.S. Air Force operates 68 courses. A closer examination indicates that the DoD counts the 3 separate golf courses, a total of fifty-four holes, at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., as 1 course. The same is true for the navy, which claims 37 courses (including facilities in Guam, Italy, and Spain) but counts, for example, its Admiral Baker Golf Course in San Diego, which boasts 2 eighteen-hole courses, as a single unit. Similarly, while the DoD claims that the army operates 56 golf facilities, it appears that this translates into no fewer than 68 actual courses, stretching from the U.S. to Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
Moreover, some military golf facilities are mysteriously missing from all lists. In 2005, according to the Pentagon, the U.S. military operated courses on twenty-five bases overseas.
A closer look, however, indicates that the military apparently forgot about some of its golf courses -- especially those in unsavory or unmentionable locales. Take the unlisted eighteen-hole golf course -- where hot-pink balls are used so as not to lose them in the barren terrain -- at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, .....
In actuality, the military has cooked the books. For example, the Department of Defense reported that the U.S. Air Force operates 68 courses. A closer examination indicates that the DoD counts the 3 separate golf courses, a total of fifty-four holes, at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., as 1 course. The same is true for the navy, which claims 37 courses (including facilities in Guam, Italy, and Spain) but counts, for example, its Admiral Baker Golf Course in San Diego, which boasts 2 eighteen-hole courses, as a single unit. Similarly, while the DoD claims that the army operates 56 golf facilities, it appears that this translates into no fewer than 68 actual courses, stretching from the U.S. to Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
Moreover, some military golf facilities are mysteriously missing from all lists. In 2005, according to the Pentagon, the U.S. military operated courses on twenty-five bases overseas.
A closer look, however, indicates that the military apparently forgot about some of its golf courses -- especially those in unsavory or unmentionable locales. Take the unlisted eighteen-hole golf course -- where hot-pink balls are used so as not to lose them in the barren terrain -- at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, .....
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War is 60% of our budget. That's the ONLY place cuts need to come from. [View all]
grahamhgreen
Dec 2012
OP
If it's military "RELATED" expenses then it's even more than 60% CIA, DIA, NSA etc...
uponit7771
Dec 2012
#2
Almost any science / technology program is dual purpose, even medical research...
reACTIONary
Dec 2012
#98
Thanks for the info. When LBJ said that we should seize the "high ground" of space...
reACTIONary
Dec 2012
#110
Media and pundits always say that Social Security/Medicare is ~40% of the budget
TheProgressive
Dec 2012
#4
Those trust fund assets came from FICA contributions over the years (and interest).
spooky3
Dec 2012
#72
The Military-Leisure Golf Complex = officials are tee-ing off at taxpayer expense at hundreds
Coyotl
Dec 2012
#64
It cost $300 million TOTAL in the period from 1967 to 1980 to eradicate small pox.
leftlibdem420
Dec 2012
#80
This is such a great statement on the purpose of war. Thank you for posting it.
Overseas
Dec 2012
#130
The pie chart in the OP represents the GENERAL FUND (programs paid for by income tax)
Lydia Leftcoast
Dec 2012
#119
Total military spending for 2012 is $1,219 bn - that is 35% of TOTAL government spend
Ian62
Dec 2012
#127
It's not just the "elephant" in the room, it's the pig in the room, considering more is paid to
mother earth
Dec 2012
#30
And how about a link that breaks out the defense budget into war related items
mostlyconfused
Dec 2012
#37
Absolutely! It looks by your graph that our best years were during low defense spending.
The Wielding Truth
Dec 2012
#41
"The bloated Pentagon budget has increased a staggering 95 percent dating back to 2000."
grahamhgreen
Dec 2012
#71
The fact that we don't talk about cutting military spending demonstrates the need for
Dustlawyer
Dec 2012
#117
I suppose a Republican would include Social Security benefits even though they don't come from the
JDPriestly
Dec 2012
#79
I wonder how much of that Operations and Maintenance goes to the oil industry.
valerief
Dec 2012
#97
first of all, there is still one war going. Second lemme educate you as a soldier...
pasto76
Dec 2012
#109
There's also 38 billion in increased Social Security costs from vetrans who can't
grahamhgreen
Dec 2012
#122
At the very least, bill Big Oil for the US military's "muscle" to get their product to market.
Old and In the Way
Dec 2012
#128