Wow, couldn’t see this coming…
From the Boston Globe today.
The estimated costs for the development of major weapons systems for the US military have doubled since September 11, 2001, with a trillion-dollar price tag for new planes, ships, and missiles that would have little direct role in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The soaring cost estimates — disclosed in a report for the Republican-led Senate Budget Committee — have led to concerns that supporters of multibillion-dollar weapons programs in Congress, the Pentagon , and the defense industry are using the conflicts and the war on terrorism to fulfill a wish-list of defense expenditures, whether they are needed or not for the war on terrorism.
When you step back, you almost have to admire the Machiavellian brilliance of these kleptocrats. While the wreckage of the Twin Towers was still smoldering, these folks from different parts of the country and different sectors of the economy were already beginning to use the tragedy to loot the US Treasury.
But the huge increase in weapons costs is already placing enormous strain on the federal budget, according to government budget specialists, who predict major increases in defense spending for years to come so that the Pentagon can afford all the weapons it has on the books. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, for example, estimates that between 2012 and 2024 the Pentagon budget will have to grow between 18 percent and 34 percent over what was appropriated this year.
To use a middle point between those numbers, a 25% increase in an already bloated Pentagon budget?? I wonder what the US national debt will be by 2020? The stated doctrine of maintaining a military that is overwhelmingly superior to any other is potentially going to bankrupt the US. In order to maintain the 1990s level of military superiority, spending is going to spiral out of control, if it hasn’t already.
With so many nations emerging into major power status, the United States will find itself in an arms race that cannot be won. As advanced as many of these weapon systems may be, it’s like any other sort of technology. I have a computer than I bought last year which is virtually obsolete compared with current models. The Soviet Union had mastered the ability to copy US technological advances and adapt them to their own weapons. The US may be spending 200 million per F-22, but I bet that in 5-10 years the Chinese or the Russians will be able to produce a jet that is almost as good at less than half the cost. The US taxpayer is paying a hefty price to be on the bleeding edge of technology.
The sad fact is that the vast majority of Americans who are not politically aware are willing to basically give the White House and the Pentagon a blank check when it comes to defending the nation. What I think needs to happen is that people need to go after the military budget like William Proxmire used to. Everyone remembers the $400 toilet seats and $50 screwdrivers, that is a prime example of a brilliant frame. People may want to be protected, but they sure as hell don’t want to waste money on that scale.
Reigning in the military budget will be an important test for a truly progressive government. The Pentagon is a sacred cow for too many lawmakers, probably because they are hoping to land a cushy job with a defense contractor once their Congressional career ends. It would be interesting to see what would happen if someone tried to bring spending to a more reasonable level. The military-industrial-congressional complex is as strong as ever and I wouldn’t put a coup or assassination past these folks. The losers are, as always, the US taxpayers. The entire defense budget amounts to the largest wealth transfer from poor to rich in the entire world and it’s time to start framing it that way. Billions are wasted while people in Iraq don’t have the equipment they need. Billions are wasted while New Orleans continues to rot. Billions are wasted while our ports remain unsafe. It’s time to perform a little judo and turn what the Republicans think is their greatest strength into a weakness.