We have a big problem in this country, and it looks as if the co-chairmen of President Obama’s fiscal commission are ready to face it. For decades we have wasted the money we should have been spending on kids and the environment by buying overpriced weapons that don’t work and staffing cold-war-era military bases around the world. Now it seems that those bad ideas are on the chopping block to the tune of $100 billion in defense cuts.
Groups as diverse as USAction, the Center for Defense Information, leaders of the Cato Institute as well as many Tea Party members all agree. These cuts don’t need to be a partisan issue.
Many of the Republicans elected to the new Congress have pledged to put Pentagon spending under a microscope, and I know many Democrats would rather spend our tax dollars on essential things like education, health care and jobs.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle should welcome a real debate on Pentagon spending. Every weapon system, every proposal to increase the size of the force, every plan for deploying our military abroad or expanding current operations must be scrutinized.
Ben Cohen
Williston, Vt., Nov. 16, 2010
Scale back on defense spending
Although I don’t agree with most of what the deficit commission argued for, I do applaud its recommendation to cut $100 billion out of the bloated defense budget.
We already spend more on our military budget than every other major developed country. Finally, a government panel is advising us to rein in defense spending. The country should focus on feeding, educating and supporting our communities.
There is a long fight ahead on which government programs should be cut and which kept.
Although many can agree to begin scaling back the billions wasted on more war and weapons, some are still stuck in a Cold War mind-set.
