Gates proposes cutting Joint Forces command from defense budget
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/08/09/art.gates.0809u.gi.jpg caption ="Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday proposed eliminating the U.S. Joint Forces Command."]Washington (CNN) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced some far-reaching proposals Monday for restructuring the massive budget at his agency, including getting rid of the U.S. Joint Forces Command (Usjfcom).
The cuts could mean a loss of up to 3,000 jobs.
The current Defense Department budget totals more than $530 billion a year, and defense officials believe they need increases of 2 to 3 percent a year to sustain the force structure and meet modernization needs.
However, the recession caused the department to propose a 1 percent budget increase for next year, and the cuts announced Monday were intended to help hold down overall costs.
From CNN Politics
- Florida legislature passes bill allowing carry of concealed weapons without a permit
- 10 Cards Charging 0% Interest Until 2024
- Untitled
- Manhattan DA's office again slams House GOP's efforts to investigate Trump probe, says approx. $5k federal funds used
- Can Trump still run for president? Your top indictment questions, answered
- Donald Trump has been indicted. Here's what we know
How did the Roman Empire fell?
Among other things, its military became too big and too costly to be paid up with the capacity of the Empire to collect taxes (there were other factors, but this one deals with the security and anarchy in the end of the Empire). It's important and necessary to have a strong military power, it always was and always will be, but 'strong' doesn't means 'way too big'.
Good! Stop the darn wars and you'd save billions, not just millions! Then cut our military in half!
That's just the tip of the iceberg. What about stop spending trillions on weapon programs designed to face Cold War era adversaries, when we are hunting people that live in cave that use fifty dollar AK-47's.
Defense Secretary Gates is one of very few people in Washington now who gets it. The American economy is in deep trouble with this continually increasing debt and increasing cost of government. The Administration and Congress have been robbing from our future for what? Political points? "We passed Health Care?!?!? " Yeah, because you are the first ones to ignore the huge expense this will take from our economy. Why do they disregard that so easily? Throwing trillions at Wall Street and housing and 'stimulus', each of which have been their own little disasters just digs our hole that much deeper when we should be working on climbing out. We need more leaders like Robert Gates to stand up and do what's right for the country.
Thank goodness. This country has spent and focused more money and more lives on unnecessary and fraudulent wars and it needs to stop. We need to clean up our own nation before we try to tell everyone else how to live. President Obama has made all the right moves to put us back into a peaceful position. We need to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Revenge over 9/11 has cost 100 times more lives than we lost that day and Bush even purposefully attacked the wrong nation.
NO MORE WARS AND NO MORE WASTED BILLIONS ON UNNEEDED MILITARY CONTRACTS.
We need to invest in the PEOPLE here at home.
The Va. cuts sound like a way of getting back at Va. for fighting Obamacare in court which is what our state should be doing. Va. is looking out for our rights and Obama wants to make us suffer for it.
Oh the dilemma... To agree with the warmongers who fear looking weak if we cut the defense budget, even though military contractors are the number one wasteful spenders in not just military spending, but in all of the national budget, OR to agree with an actual conservative military mind, appointed by a conservative president, making sensible, conservative decisions about how to make our military more efficient, and hence stronger, even though it means reducing spending.
Come on! This should be a no-brainer! Cut the wasteful military budget! Stop the abuse of our taxpayer money by private contractors! Over half of our military budget is not actual government expenses, but outsourcing of government functions to wasteful, greedy private contractors with practically no review or oversight! Oh, but the alure of 'private' business, disguising itself as 'free enterpirse' is great, even though they just abuse the government to channel our taxpayer money into their own greedy pockets.
Moment of truth, neocons! Do you want to reduce spending, or do you want to keep jobs in the hands of private contractors! You claim to CHAMPION both reduced spending and creation of jobs! Even though the jobs in question, and the military spending are in the hands of democratic districts right now! I know! Let's side with the military budget reducing Bush-appointee, and say it's SO sensible, even though you have criticized Obama for reducing Pentagon spending. (Fact 1: the cuts in question were recommended by Gates, Fact 2: despite the cuts, under Obama the Pentagon budget has actually grown!)
Yep, lets put some more people out of work. Why don't we cut the pork in congress first...along with the perks, healthcare, and great retirement checks. Oh, I forgot it is controlled by the dems.
We spend too much on the Defense Dept and related budget items. We should not cut soldier pay or benefits, they aren't high enough now. We need to cut programs, bases and inefficient positions.
I will not support any party that does not support the Military. Hooah!!! p.s. Eat your hooah bars. I'm glad to see he is making cuts on military wasteful spending from the top and not gutting the soldiers which is the military middle class. Thats how a Republican suppose to govern. Thanks Secretary Gates...
Sure. Let's cut our defenses some more. By the time Obama gets done, we will have the weakest military since Carter. This is what gets us into trouble folks. Vote 'em in. Vote 'em out.
It is about time to deal with the Defense Department's wasteful spending. Defense spending should be an investment rather than just a systematic drain on our finances. What are we getting for the $530 billion per year?
So less or more money for the pentagon? What about the wars? are they in the budget or not? I bet we will still be spending more money when it is all said and done. The usual widow dressing. The Pentagon budget is the real tangled knot around America`s throat. Cut it down for real, no more pretend!!
a good beginning
there is so much waste in the 530 billion, cut away