Forum Post: Either president: enrich 1 %, more war, more military budget, cut everything else

Romney and Obama are prisoners of the Military industrial congressional complex. Cut everything including health, education, infrastructure, science, food, regulation, enforcement, environment, aid to seniors and veterans, aid to poor, aid to unemployed, job creation, housing, ports, roads, bridges, tunnels, mass transit, arts, science, research, etc. But unlimited money for failed military projects.

Tomgram: William Astore, Hail to the Cheerleader-in-Chief! Posted by William Astore at 9:41am, May 15, 2012.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175542/tomgram%3A_william_astore%2C_hail_to_the_cheerleader-in-chief!/?utm_source=TomDispatch&utm_campaign=fe30df0463-TD_Astore5_15_2012&utm_medium=email#more

Let’s start with this: according to the Pentagon, the production and acquisition costs of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet, the military’s most expensive weapons program, have risen yet again, this time by 4.3% since 2010 to $395.6 billion. If you’re talking about the total cost of the system, including maintenance and support for the nearly 2,500 planes that will some (endlessly delayed) day be produced for the military, that has now reached an estimated $1.51 trillion, a 9% rise since 2010. All this for a plane that some experts doubt has any particular purpose in the future U.S. arsenal. At last, however, the House of Representatives seems to have had enough of wasteful spending programs. Perhaps its members also read the recent poll that shows Americans generally support more funds for the Defense Department -- until, that is, they are told just how much is spent on defense compared to other budget items. Then, 75% of them (67% of Republicans) back significant cuts, an average of 18%, in that budget to reduce the federal deficit. read more..............