Trump calls for $1.5 trillion military budget

[CrusaderFrank]

The United States is the world's top arms exporter, and U.S. companies earn hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue annually from weapons sales

Is that a good thing? Do they send the profits to the taxpayers funding it?

 

[Rambunctious]

Is that a good thing? Do they send the profits to the taxpayers funding it?

Via jobs... market increases... and a growing tax base and economic growth... all beneficial to every single American in one way or the other....

 

[Rambunctious]

CrusaderFrank We didn't become the richest greatest nation on earth by accident....

 

[rightwinger]

The United States is the world's top arms exporter, and U.S. companies earn hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue annually from weapons sales

More reason we don’t need a $1.5 trillion military budget
Those arms go to our allies

 

[Rambunctious]

More reason we don’t need a $1.5 trillion military budget
Those arms go to our allies

Do you want China to win the arms race?....

 

[rightwinger]

Via jobs... market increases... and a growing tax base and economic growth... all beneficial to every single American in one way or the other....

Investing that money in infrastructure, healthcare, education would also provide that growth

 

[Rambunctious]

Investing "that money" in infrastructure, healthcare, education would also provide that growth

Investing what money???... where does "that money" come from???

 

[rightwinger]

Do you want China to win the arms race?....

China has one third the military budget we do and is mostly concerned with defending the S China Sea and keeping 1.5 billion people in check

 

[Rambunctious]

China has one third the military budget we do and is mostly concerned with defending the S China Sea and keeping 1.5 billion people in check

But they use slave labor... we have unions....

 

[rightwinger]

But they use slave labor... we have unions....

No
Their military equipment is not built by slave labor

 

[CrusaderFrank]

CrusaderFrank We didn't become the richest greatest nation on earth by accident....

We didn't become the richest nation on Earth from arms dealing. We were a Free nation with a stable, respected currency

 

[kyzr]

Do you want China to win the arms race?....

Its not the arms race, its the bankruptcy race. NFW we can afford to add $600b to defense.

 

[Mr Natural]

Its not the arms race, its the bankruptcy race. NFW we can afford to add $600b to defense.

Just add it to the tab. Just because we owe the money doesn't mean we have to pay it back.

 

[kyzr]

Just add it to the tab. Just because we owe the money doesn't mean we have to pay it back.

Yes it does mean we have to pay it back, otherwise the dollar is worthless, like Weimar...or Venezuela, or Iran, or Russia...

 

[BackAgain]

What is the threat?

The US has not been invaded in over 200 years. we have northern and southern neighbors who are not threats.
We are surrounded by two massive oceans making invasion impossible.

We have such a massive military because we insist on being the worlds policemen and want to extend our military around the world.

What a spectacular example of your ignorance.

 

[kyzr]

What a spectacular example of your ignorance.

Getting NATO to commit to 5% of GDP should help us spend less on defense, not more.

 

[rightwinger]

What a spectacular example of your ignorance.

Not at all

The need for military power is based on the threat that you must counter

Trump has created a Department of War and is more concerned with the threat he created

 

[rightwinger]

Getting NATO to commit to 5% of GDP should help us spend less on defense, not more.

We should be able to decrease our military presence in that theater. Russia does not present the threat they once did. Ukraine has proven that

We should be looking at downsizing our military, not doubling it

 

[BackAgain]

Not at all

Yes. Completely. You make no sense. You argue from your unsupported premises as if you knew diddly dog. You don’t.

The need for military power is based on the threat that you must counter

Partly true. Not an observation of much significance, however. Among other things, any nation can desire great military strength not just to counter specific threats — but also to make any potential (hypothetical) threats moot from jump-street.

Trump has created a Department of War and is more concerned with the threat he created

No. He simply renames the Departmwnt of Defense to honestly recognize that we obtain defense from being able to prosecute any war against us.

President Trump didn’t create the threats he is presently seeking to eliminate. In fact, since you pontificate without support all the time, maybe you’d be kind enough to share with us all exactly what you’re talking about.

Any examples? Citations? Links?

 

[kyzr]

We should be able to decrease our military presence in that theater. Russia does not present the threat they once did. Ukraine has proven that
We should be looking at downsizing our military, not doubling it

When we do something with defense Russia and China will try to counter it.
Reagan spent the USSR into a breakup.
Maybe Trump is trying the opposite, to spend the US into bankruptcy?