Unfortunately, there will be no meaningful progress made on bringing the federal government’s runaway spending under control without substantial cuts to military spending. Much of the “discretionary” spending that can be cut in the appropriations process is found in the military and defense budgets. Elderly voters, of course, will throw a fit if anyone mentions cutting their favorite welfare programs, Social Security and Medicare. Moreover, that spending is “non-discretionary” meaning Congress must pass new laws changing spending formulas on top of the appropriations process. That should all be done, of course, but it also means we might as well start with cuts to defense spending.
There seems to be no way out of the dilemma of the national budget deficits. The author suggests starting to cut in the defense areas because the spending on new “gadgets” like the F35, that does not work. Between the exotic projects and the never ending wars, there is a lot of money to cut from the military budget before even thinking of cutting Medicare and Medicaid and Socical Security. But, will they cut the military industrial complex’s funding? One could question that.