US Military Spending is No Longer A Sacred Cow

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2011/01/us-military-spending-is-no-longer-a-sacred-cow.html

Word is out all around Washington that the Obama Administration plans to cut US defense programs by $78 billion and 70,000 troops by 2015. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush Administration with credibility within the military community, is spearheading the administration’s press on this issue. Separately, Eric Cantor, the new majority leader in the Republican–controlled House of Representatives, has said that military spending cannot be a "sacred cow".

So, at least in word – if not yet in deed – we are getting the first real miss on my post-election predictions for Obama’s economic agenda for re-election. When reviewing Byron Wien’s ten surprises for for 2010 earlier in the week, I said liberals are loth to be seen as weak on national defense in reference to one of the missed predictions. This may be true, but the politics of the defense cut move are now clear. The new Republican congress is also putting military spending cuts on the table, so the Obama administration can do as well, without looking weak on defense. Moreover, the Obama Administration announced earlier today that it is sending 14,000 more troops to Afghanistan, demonstrating that it is still committed to national defense.

I see this as a big development. $78 billion is a drop in the bucket of course. Nevertheless, the fact that military spending cuts are now on the table – and both sides are talking about defense cuts seriously – means that this 112th Congress may be serious about reducing spending.

MORE at the link --

[Lasher]

1. A $92B military spending decrease had already been projected by OMB for next year.

See Office of Management and Budget - Historical Tables and download Table 5.2, Budget Authority by Agency: 1976-2015, then refer to Defense - Military on the spreadsheet. There we see the estimates (in millions):

2011 $712,270
2012 $620,467
2013 $636,058
2014 $652,241
2015 $670,633

Now consider this article from Stars & Stripes:

Most of the end-strength reductions won’t begin until 2015, after Afghan forces are expected to take over the lead in combat operations there.

<snip>

Gates called the personnel cuts an unwanted but necessary last step to meet long-term budget projections, which show annual increases in the military budget for the next three years but flat spending starting in fiscal 2014.

<snip>

Next month, President Barack Obama is expected to unveil plans for more than $553 billion in defense spending for fiscal 2012, a small increase from the $548 billion budget proposed by the White House for this fiscal year — but never approved by Congress.

<snip>

The budget projections do not include the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are funded separately from the Pentagon’s base budget.

http://www.stripes.com/news/gates-outlines-plans-to-cut-78-billion-in-programs-70-000-troops-1.130848

And there you have it. It's a shell game. The OMB projections include the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but numbers cited in the above Stars & Stripes article do not. Assuming no change next year in spending levels for these two wars, however, we see that the $92B decrease projected by OMB for 2012 just turned into a $5B increase.

But you're supposed to be focused on reductions that mostly won't begin until 2015 (and maybe not ever), so that you won't notice that we'll be spending $97B more on our military next year than we'd been planning.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

3. Great post Lasher

:thumbsup:

[Lasher]

5. Thank you.

Did I mention that US military spending has doubled since 1998?

[unhappycamper]

2. And here's the winners and losers:

http://www.stripes.com/blogs/stripes-central/stripes-central-1.8040/winners-and-losers-in-gates-latest-budget-cuts-1.130859

[T Wolf]

4. Sure it is. These cuts WILL NOT happen. Just watch. They will always figure ways to keep

funding their killing machine at the expense of "we the people."

[MadHound]

6. Spending over a trillion dollars a year,

Yet touting cuts that amount to 15 billion a year. Ooo baby, we're cooking with gas now:eyes:

How about we end both wars, bring the troops home and make a truly meaningful cut, say axing one half the military budget. We could easily afford it, but it's not going to happen.