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Thread: The Constitution?
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01-15-2013, 04:05 AM #21
I don't want to get too into this for fear of hijacking the thread, but I just think we've been far over-reaching with our military for far too long and that its size needs to be decreased. Wars seem to be great for the economy, and that is a huge problem. Eisenhower was famous for warning us against the military-industrial complex, and I think the more that spending on the military is pared down, the closer we'll get to solving this problem. When we're spending almost half of total world military spending, that's a problem. (World Military Spending; disclosure, this is not my field so I don't know exactly how those spending figures are calculated)
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01-15-2013, 04:23 AM #22
Absolutely
It's pretty simple - military spending results in employing people who create military goods, fight wars (in the broad sense of the world, because these days fighting wars often means acting as police, construction, social, etc. workers in other countries) by taxing everybody else. Or if there is no war, all that money goes towards maintaining and stockpiling the goods and paying the soldiers to sit around and train for when there would be war.
If you scale down that government spending it only means that some of those people will have to find something other type of work which may be more beneficial to the society, or they can stay unemployed and cost much less to those who are paying the bills.
It is the exact same argument as any other government spending, so the question is what to do with the money
(1) stop charging it on the credit card even though the current interest is negative
(2) spend more on military programs
(3) spend more on civil programs
If you think rationally it would be a question where do you get most bang for your buck right now. For example most college students have made the decision (even if they don't realize it) that they would get more by borrowing money and investing it in their education.
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01-15-2013, 04:38 AM #23
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Thanked: 480I for one, would like to say a nice hearty "Thank You" to all you guys posting in "The Conversation"
While from time to time they may turn argumentitive, for the most part you all behave like gentlemen. Seeing well thought out responces is such a blessed change of pace from the typical posturing that I normally encounter.
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01-15-2013, 04:43 AM #24
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01-15-2013, 04:54 AM #25
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01-15-2013, 09:49 AM #26
I think it would be better already if people refrained from such phrases as 'you republicans', or 'all liberals' or 'typical democrat'.
I am not an American, but I can imagine that people tend to have different ideas about a whole range of topics. You can put a dozen of Republicans (or democrats, or liberals) in the same room and they might disagree about a whole lot of things. And they only voted for Republicans (or democrats, or liberals) because that fit best out of the very, very few options they have.
If you accept that there is a lot of difference of opinion in your own party, then it stands to reason that the same is true for the other party. So in the interest of having an honest debate, you'd best not paint all people with the same brush, just because they happened to agree or disagree.
And just because you're a republican does not mean that you cannot agree with a democrat that a republican politician behaves badly. And by the same token, being a democrat does not mean that you cannot acknowledge that a democrat politician has behaved very badly.Til shade is gone, til water is gone, Into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath.
To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day
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01-15-2013, 09:28 PM #27
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01-15-2013, 09:41 PM #28
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Thanked: 334I'm not a particular fan of the current president, nor is he my enemy, but if it's the will of the people to do so...
Edit: I predict that this will never actually come to pass. My question is this: If the will of the people is indeed highest good, then hypothetically speaking what harm would it do? I don't ask this to create heated arguments, merely to further my own understanding.Last edited by mapleleafalumnus; 01-15-2013 at 09:44 PM.
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01-15-2013, 09:51 PM #29
You are closer to the truth than you can possibly imagine. We were supposed to hate Bush in '08 even though McCain was on the ballot. We were supposed to hate the banks/bankers and big business a couple years ago. This past year we were supposed to hate the rich. If united we stand and divided we fall, what's in it for them? Think about it. Under the normal run of things it makes no sense. Under what circumstances DOES it make sense? This is a man who insisted on fundamental change for America......FUNDAMENTAL change. A person who tells a lie, hides the truth. A person who tells a half-lie has forgotten where he put it.
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01-15-2013, 10:13 PM #30
While I am not exactly in favor of military cuts and am on the conservative side of these issues, I don’t believe that military spending or war is good for the economy. While it employs people, that is a low standard for us to judge such issues. We could employ people to dig ditches and fill them in but why waste a man’s productivity that way? I view this spending as wasted resources in some ways. Necessary, perhaps, but wasted none the less. If we employ people, consume resources, and spend money on a ship that ends up at the bottom of the ocean or a plane that gets retired, it brings home nothing in the way of productivity for our economy. Where do we really see the benefit of a productive economy? We see it in reduced prices and greater spending power. The fact that we can deliver iPhones, hybrid cars, and high quality food to people at a cost that is manageable is a direct result of a productive economy. The reason it exists in any quantity is the result of successful investment. This is directly impacts the quality of our lives. THAT is where we see the real benefit of a successful economy. Military spending may be necessary but it’s a necessary evil in that it is a direct drain on our resources. This spending ensures our collective safety, and for that its valuable. But if it were not, this money and man power would be better spent delivering the things that increase our quality of life.