georgephillip
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #61
What's your take on the upcoming sequestration?How would an 18% cut in defense spending affect the US unemployment rate?
There would be an up-tick in the unemployment rate with an 18 percent cut in defense spending, but, my concern would be the effect on readiness (both operational and materiel<I spelled it right, look it up), innovation, and new construction.
Retiree and veteran's benefits erosion has been occuring and the president wants to cut deeper. That must stop. We may not need a military 100 times larger and more expensive than the next 10 countries combined but maybe 50 or 60 times. The citizenry must decide what their military's mission and abilities are and vote in those who will put those desires in effect.
There is plenty of waste in DOD and room for meaningful cuts. One place of course is government contractors. The R&D, approval, and construction process is too long and costly. Conversely, outside companies are vital to the security of the nation. The federal hiring process is bogged down with requirements that does not always put the best candidate in the job. My daughter's future husband for example runs a program at a DC area military base and has government co-workers who cannot do half of what their resume said they could do. He and his fellow contractors are needed to get done what the GS employees are actually hired to do.
With the military deployment cycle getting back to normal and combat operations coming to a close, the cost of doing DOD business will go down. This is not a time to let down and draw down because there will be a need for decades to come for the USA to be the strongest leader in the free world.
"The looming across-the-board budget cuts that could put scores of Americans out of work next year are all President Barack Obama’s fault.
"That’s according to congressional Republicans — the majority of whom voted for the deal that laid the groundwork for the cuts in the first place."
Some projections of impending job losses that I've seen recently suggest 100,000s of defense-related workers would be let go, which would probably guarantee a double-dip recession.
Sequester hits home for Republicans - Politico.com - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -