The Bailout Package Is Chump Change
October 17, 2008, Matthew Good Congress initially vetoed the idea. The Senate reformed the package and then the House of Representatives reversed course and okayed it. $700 billion dollars of emergency funding to help bolster the American economic landscape.
Make no mistake, there are a lot of Americans that were angered that the bailout package was passed, which makes one wonder why those same people aren’t up in arms over the fact that this month the Defense Budget for the next fiscal year will most assuredly be rubber stamped to the tune of an estimated $711 billion dollars. And remember, that’s not a one time occurrence, it happens every year, and over the last seven years the total has increased.
Here, for example, is a graph by The Center For Arms Control And Non-Proliferation which puts this year’s spending into perspective…
Here is a chart based on statistics provided by The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute that outlines global defense spending in 2006…
The Defense Budget is paid for by taxpayers. In it, of course, is the Black Budget, which is money allocated to those sectors of the US military and intelligence communities that is not publicly disclosed. This process, which has been routine since the inception of the Department of Defense, is, in truth, in contravention of the 9th Section of the 1st Article of the Constitution. So forget a one time economic bailout of $700 billion dollars – the allocation of a portion of every Defense Budget isn’t even disclosed to the People’s Representatives, and therefore the very people that pay for it. And while some might argue that, for the sake of national security, that’s something that must be allowed to occur, the truth of the matter is that it has placed the Department of Defense, and by way of it numerous intelligence agencies, beyond the very Constitutional language that actually makes the United States a democracy – the disclosure of spending to the People’s Representatives.
Now, if you want to get angry about something…
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It makes me physically sick. If only government were even half as good at running a country as they are at wasting.
It is peculiar that whenever the bailout is being discussed, and I raise the military expenditure as a comparison point, it is met with shrugs and continued talk about Wall Street.
Acceptable:
trillions on secrecy and torture and killing for greed.
Unacceptable:
billions on payback for greed.
We have been conditioned to believe that war is necessary and expensive.
Matt does that money include actually paying the salaries of the Troops? I mean Ive worked with the US NAVY teaching troops in order for them to gain diplomas etc. Now I get paid for that… and get money for supplies etc. Does that not come out of that money?
Hell im not saying the Miltary wastes money ive seen it first hand i just wonder if that money also includes their salary
I am just sick of the whole thing. US should never have been in this position in the first place. Just so much greed out there.
Once the Monetary system is understood. Talk about an epiphany. That’s the problem right there!
Let’s not even talk about waste, fraud and secrecy for a moment; if the American people actually understood just how much wealth is in this country………. they’d be a mob descending at Mach speed on Washington.
Every lawmaker in this great nation needs a hundred watch dogs looking over their shoulder at every piece of legislation that comes before them.
Not news. And I’m actually rather indifferent towards it, now that I’ve decided to emigrate
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