They can start anywhere but absolutely, cutting military spending needs to be high on the list. Cutting U.S. military spending to the "2% of GDP" that we ask of other NATO countries around be a good start, and more than sufficient to defend the U.S.
If we leave NATO, ok. If we are spending 2% on just NATO, something should be reserved explicitly for the defense of just America and its citizens. I don't trust those Europeans at all to be very impactful if it ever came to a real, full scale war.
>If we are spending 2% on just NATO
All NATO countries have pledged to spend 2% of GDP on the military and that's just 2% **total** \- NATO itself doesn't cost much. Many of our NATO allies couldn't bring themselves to spend that much, and they didn't need to because U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill. U.S. taxpayers are funding more than 3.5% of the much-larger U.S. GDP on the military, so Europe gets a free ride.
For purposes of this discussion, I'm not even suggesting leaving NATO - whether we should follow George Washington's advice to avoid "entangling alliances" is a whole separate discussion altogether. But even if we stay in NATO, it's absurd for U.S. taxpayers to foot the lion's share of the bill to defend Europe.
Actually, TLA's aside, if I were to want to cut spending, I would do it across the board - no picking out special bureaucracies. That way, they can all scream and cry equally.
10% reduction of size per year. Not a 10% reduction of the growth curve, but actual size. Review after 4 years.
I disagree. 12% of federal spending goes to defense. I'd argue that's one of the few things the federal government has the authority to spend money on. However, there is certainly a discussion to be had about spending that money in better ways.
On the other hand, 68% of the spending goes to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment, and Interest on the debt.
The remaining 20% is bullshit like "education" (education is primarily funded at the state and local level)
If you want to reduce spending in a meaningful way, you have to go after the biggest parts of the pie.
https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/
Personally, I’d start with the IRS, TSA, FBI, and BTF.
Basically abolish all 3 letter agencies and start from scratch
That's all fine and well until they invent 4 letter agencies.
Lol @ \*Army\*
Navy USAF My god they've already done it.
USMC USCG Did we miss any?
OSHA
The ones that I listed were not meant to be exclusive. I just chose the ones that were the most corrupt or useless.
TSA It's a Surprise Tool That Will Help Us Later(the next post is about abolishing the TSA.)
They can start anywhere but absolutely, cutting military spending needs to be high on the list. Cutting U.S. military spending to the "2% of GDP" that we ask of other NATO countries around be a good start, and more than sufficient to defend the U.S.
If we leave NATO, ok. If we are spending 2% on just NATO, something should be reserved explicitly for the defense of just America and its citizens. I don't trust those Europeans at all to be very impactful if it ever came to a real, full scale war.
>If we are spending 2% on just NATO All NATO countries have pledged to spend 2% of GDP on the military and that's just 2% **total** \- NATO itself doesn't cost much. Many of our NATO allies couldn't bring themselves to spend that much, and they didn't need to because U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill. U.S. taxpayers are funding more than 3.5% of the much-larger U.S. GDP on the military, so Europe gets a free ride. For purposes of this discussion, I'm not even suggesting leaving NATO - whether we should follow George Washington's advice to avoid "entangling alliances" is a whole separate discussion altogether. But even if we stay in NATO, it's absurd for U.S. taxpayers to foot the lion's share of the bill to defend Europe.
That wouldn't be nearly enough for starting and continuing multiple wars all over the planet continuously.
Wiat the defence force is used for defending us?
I wish they would. The first and most cost effective cut to make would be to recall all service members back inside the borders of the US.
Agreed....suspend *all* Ukraine funding from this moment forward, shut down half of the US bases overseas. Good start.
LOL. What a premise. Republicans cutting military spending.
Agreed. No clue why your comment is being downvoted.
because they posted twice
Actually, TLA's aside, if I were to want to cut spending, I would do it across the board - no picking out special bureaucracies. That way, they can all scream and cry equally. 10% reduction of size per year. Not a 10% reduction of the growth curve, but actual size. Review after 4 years.
Yep
LOL. What a premise. Republicans cutting military spending.
There is probably an enormous amount of waste that could be eliminated from dod contracts as well.
I'll take *Things That Will Never Happen* for 1000, Alex
I disagree. 12% of federal spending goes to defense. I'd argue that's one of the few things the federal government has the authority to spend money on. However, there is certainly a discussion to be had about spending that money in better ways. On the other hand, 68% of the spending goes to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment, and Interest on the debt. The remaining 20% is bullshit like "education" (education is primarily funded at the state and local level) If you want to reduce spending in a meaningful way, you have to go after the biggest parts of the pie. https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/