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but spending billions of dollars on plunging countries that don’t have WMD’s into chaos makes us safer.
We do provide for the defense for basically all of the NATO countries and our allies. Having such an overwhelming force in the world has actually led to fewer major conflicts, and European countries get to spend all their money on their social programs they love so much instead of their own defense.
That being said, yeah, the military budget has to be cut in this country. The procurement process is criminal. We’re in far too many countries we don’t belong.
and just imagine, all those military personnel we are sending over seas will come back and we have to pay for all of their benefits.
Isn’t HHS bigger? what is HHS?
There is a big enough lack of education already
HHS = Health and Human Services.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services
“There is a big enough lack of education already”
The federal government doesn’t directly control education in this country. That’s mainly a state and local level function. Regardless, you can throw all the money you want at schools, but if Johnny Stupid-Ass would rather be partying than studying, he’ll stay Mr. Stupid-Ass the rest of his life. You can’t fund the Stupid-Ass out of him.
While I’ll admit there are a shitload of stupid-asses in the US, there are also thousands who want to go to college and can’t afford it. Those people are the ones who will start new businesses and build the economy, but we’re forcing them into dead end jobs instead.
You don’t need a college degree to start a business and not having one doesn’t relegate one to a dead end job. I know a chick who has just a high school diploma and is a Wal-Mart store manager making ridiculous money……bitch.
In fact, there are economists making the claim that skipping college and instead investing tuition money works out better for the kid in the long run. I tend to agree that high school kids should spend time working before going to college unless they know for sure what they want to do.
This is Pax Americana. We have to secure our shit from all those greedy foreign powers that want to steal all our Wal-Marts and Double Whoppers. Of course, we also need check out people at our Wal-Marts and folks to make our Double Whoppers. Only the stupid or the desperate will settle for that. So we take away the education and send jobs overseas, creating lots of stupid and desperate people. That way we get all the Wal-Marts and Double Whoppers we can handle.
Humm..
Who owns wallmart and BK ?
Not the US….so…….
Hmmm Problems in America. Where to begin. Imports extremely higher than Exports. What is made in America these days?
HHS = Department of Health and Human Services. Not taking care of the old and sick would be unpatriotic. America certainly isn’t #1 at this either.
Who would join the Military if everyone made it into College? Military recruiters love visiting the uneducated and destitute. There are options, but some have less than others.
“Who would join the Military if everyone made it into College?”
The 200 some-odd-thousand officers who make at least 4 grand a month in pay. The military also offers education benefits so anyone can be as educated as they please.
“What is made in America these days? ”
We lead the world in manufacturing. Here’s a link from China confirming:
en.ce.cn/subject/usef/news/201103/09/t20110309_22283996.shtml
As well as:
www.nam.org/Resource-Center/Facts-About-Manufacturing/Landing.aspx
Four grand a month is only $48,000 a year – pretty piss-poor pay for a job that puts your ass on the line and makes you responsible for the lives of many others.
You can get a college degree and get a job in Finance, make $60K to start and never have to tell some mother how you got her son killed.
48,000 is a nice sum of money for most parts of the country.
When you are in the military you bank 48K a year to start. Officers make a lot more and it all goes in the bank. They pay for everything.
Getting a job in finance is like checking your soul at the door.
Ever had to run out the back of an office building because your company’s CEO is screaming at the CFO “our name’s are on there?! Do you want to wind up like Martha Stewart??!?”.
I have.
Yeah, but that is only the officers… Everyone else makes far less then that and do all the dirty work.
Here is imports/exports data of US vs China.
www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2011
From your article, so not true: “It is a myth that manufacturing is disappearing from the region and that all operations are moving to countries with low-cost labor, the report noted.”
Well, you dont pay a machine operator on an assembly line in the factory the same as a project manager in charge of that assembly line and 4 others. Responsibility is what is compenseated in the civilian world, and the same goes for the military.
No offense, but neither of us knows enough about the military to comment coherently on it. I will say I know it’s a good career choice for young people to consider for a variety of reasons, especially if they are smart about choosing their MOS.
Forgot: just because there’s an export deficit doesn’t mean we don’t lead the world in manufacturing. We are the world’s largest economy by huge margins, after all.
No, the problem is poor people. Always wanting an education, proper health care, police and fire services, equal rights and shit. Then they get knocked up and need planned parenthood, or even worse, create more tiny poor people, who then need shit like vaccinations and head start programs.
We need to fight back against this atheist Muslim regime change that’s pulling the rug of freedom out from under us and get our country back. We need more tax cuts for the rich, less regulation in the financial markets, more Jesus everywhere, more rights to fetuses, less rights to people who aren’t white old dudes, and MORE WARS!
“Atheist Muslim” I think you just started a war some where.
There’s a good chance I might end up enlisting.
WHY?!
What’s your main benefit from service that you expect? Let us work your way back from that.
I thought you were smart.
Because I’m in need of direction in my life right now. And I want to better myself as a person both physically and mentally and to pay back all that the country has given me.
You never really appreciate your country until you live somewhere else. You never really understand how simply being born there in the US (or wherever you’re from) is the biggest defining moment on shaping who you are as a person now.
Right now, I’m 24 and living in Taiwan studying something I care little about (digital communications/design). I know for a fact that none of what I’m learning is going to be relevant to my future.
I even asked my Taiwanese gf and even she gave it some serious thought.
ian: Your decision, but I will say that every single friend of mine that joined the military out of high school and even some that joined while in college do not regret the decision at all. Some are still in, some are out with thriving careers, all gained something from their service. Joining the military doesn’t automatically mean you’ll carry a rifle into combat either. You could spend your whole career and never see combat if you choose (I’ve heard you won’t advance as fast, but that’s something someone more knowledgeable can comment on).
For example, I work with two people who did 20 years in the military straight out of high school, retired, and got the same job I did after going to college and getting a degree. They are doing similar work, probably comparable pay, not much older than me, yet they have TWO incomes with TWO sources of insurance, one of them receiving disability pay on top of it for a minor injury received while in service….THAT’S PAY FOR LIFE. I compare where I’m at and where they’re at, and wonder why I made the choice I did. Your mileage may vary though. It’s not for everyone.
Bottom line, do not listen to the ignorant fools on the internet who think the military is about baby killing. Do some research and find a veteran to give you the straight dope on what it’s like and what to do. DO NOT believe everything a recruiter will tell you though. They have quotas to fill, after all. Good luck.
^this. I retire in a year and a half, and it was the best thing I could have done. But as he said don’t listen to idiots on the internet. Even me. Just make up your own mind. Make your own choice. 20 years from now, you’ll still never know if it was the right choice. But if I had to gamble, I’d bet you like where you are at after getting out, even if you only do one tour. Trust me, the lives you’ll affect will shape you as a person. I think you’ll like yourself more afterward.
@DMYTRIW WDS
WHY ARE YOU SO IGNORANT?!
Because it is people like you who create the stigma that the military is for idiots, when really the rank and file civilian world is where the idiots are.
I have staff sergeants under my command that hold bachelors degrees in science, engineering, the arts and philosopy.
I have a sergeant first class with a doctorate.
I have a bachelors in chemical engineering as a Lieutenant.
What do you have you? I don’t even know if you are smart.
ian being from Taiwan can probably appreciate what tens of millions of Americans have forgotten over the years. The U.S. Army protects this country, and scores across the world. What is Taiwan’s buffer from China. The U.S. military. Do you think Taiwan would be independent if the U.S. didn’t tell China to step off and go frig themselves in the corner. Doubtful.
Oh, by the way, when I am 42, I will be retiring, then taking a job paying me 3x what my retiring salary was at a minimum (as my sense of duty is so great, I am knowingly taking a 66% paycut from the starting salary of a chemical engineering bachelor degree. I won’t make that much till I hit my 14 year service mark.) But guess what the military has. Loyalty to their soldiers (employees). Go to a private corporation and tell them that in your contract to work for them you want a clause saying that so long as you do a good job, they can’t fire you and have to guarantee your retirement. Good luck.
Go ahead, formulate your little response about how the military is evil, murders, only for retards and degenerates, criminals and what not. I will be in the motor pool, checking on my soldiers knowing that my subordinates are the best in the world, would do anything for eachother and their families. Maybe not all of them wanted to join the military, but you tell the single mother of two who joined after her ex-husband left her homeless, jobless and without a skill. Tell me a company that would take her, offer her child care, train her in a highly technical field with a skill, immediately cover her family with insurance and give her a place to live (all while getting paid). Her job is humanitarian in nature, she does good in the world and cares for others in need both in garrison and on deployments.
Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you do?
BEST IN THE WORLD
BEST IN THE WORLD
MY SOLDIERS BEST IN THE WORLD
USA #1 USA USA USA WE WIN
DEFENSE BUDGET IS DRIVING MY COUNTRY BROKE BUT WE WON WW1 AND WW2 SINGLEHANDEDLY
AMERICA FUCK YEAAAAAH
THREE DUMBSHITS WITH AN UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE AND SUDDENLY ENTIRE MILITARY OF 25 MILLION INFANTRY ARE ALL SMARTEST PEOPLE BECAUSE WE DIVIDE THE WORLD INTO BLACK/WHITE AND “CIVILIAN” AND “MILITARY”
BECAUSE FIVE BANKS ON WALL STREET AND ITS 12 EXECS DIDN’T SINGLEHANDEDLY DESTROY WESTERN WORLD ECONOMY
OH WELL WALL STREET IS IN AMERICA, WE WIN!!!! USA #1 BEST AT BI-WINNING EVERYTHING THERE IS TO WIN
We don’t have a military of 25 million, sir.
If I had it to do over, I’d have enlisted straight from high school and served 20 years. I’d even have them pay for my college.
I’d be retiring in a few years had I done that, and would be in a far better position than I am now.
I highly suggest young people consider the military, especially in this job market.
Do you have an ASVAB high enough to dictate what job you’re looking for? Being biased, I would recommend NAVY, being that it is the least physically demanding [after the Air Force] (you still have to be reasonably fit) and for many job duties, you know what job you will train for prior signing or swearing an oath.
/rant
Sorry, a little leaning towards Heinlein with the whole “you don’t get to bitch an moan until you earned it”
I think NASA deserves more than it gets too.
As a teacher, I concur.
I wonder how much Education is funded if you count in what the States pitch in. I’m in California & I know education gets a mandatory 40% of the general fund. So whenever I hear the daily commercials from the Teachers’ Union (that aren’t cheap, by the way) saying they need more money, I get irritated because I’m already in the highest state tax bracket, and not to mention the most taxed state in the union. Shit, just registered my car & it cost me $375. And that’s an annual thing.
Social Security, I doubt you’ll be there in the 30+ years when I’m entitled to receive it. Thank goodness I’m good at investing.
Here’s a link showing how education spending has increased over the years, and how we are third in the world for eduction spending:
www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/10facts/edlite-chart.html#5
That should piss everyone off considering how poorly educated our citizens have become over the years, for example that recent story stating that 38% of Americans (1000) quizzed on basic citizenship failed. Yet, every year, I hear the same old, tired story: “THINK OF THE CHILDREN. WE NEED MORE MONEY!”
More money isn’t the solution, but less money isn’t the solution, either. Getting RESULTS with the money we spend is what we need.
But that would involve more government oversight and intervention, and that is something the right will never tolerate.
Every single time the government has heavy handed something, it has ruined it. I agree that less money isn’t the answer either, but you want to put lifetime bureaucrats in charge of things they ALREADY have a track record of failing at. That just doesn’t make sense.
It’s time for this country to completely rethink and retool our education system, something that several politicians have discussed….Romney is one I can remember off hand….but noooooooo, teacher unions scream bloody hell and the status quo rules the day.
To the point: Money is not the solution to our education problem. We’ve been throwing increasingly larger sums of money at our schools over the year, and we have not seen tangible results in regards to the quality of education, and I’m not talking about graduation rates, which can mean literally nothing.
You have to pay 375$ a year to register your car?
wtf?
Yeah, I pay nothing like that. Registration in WV is $30 for cars and light trucks. We do have Personal Property tax which can add a decent amount to the yearly cost of owning newer vehicles.
We are so far into debt as a nation as to have little hope of seeing black any time this decade, yet when a disaster happens anywhere in the world we are expected, by every other country in the world and our money grubbing favor currying political elite to lead the charge, and foot at least part of the bill. If we were ever to choose not to, the other countries would decry America’s lack of compassion. In spite of the fact the we have been helping all over the world for well over 70 years!
I am not saying not to help those in need. Charity and compassion are to of the building blocks that make America great. But clean your own house first America! Fix this broken country, and then we will have a stable place to stand to offer a hand up, NOT A HAND OUT, to those in need!
Feed the children of the Third World? Definitely, but lets put some of that money towards the thousands we have here who are homeless, under nourished, and destitute because of natural disaster, economic disaster, class restriction, or what ever other reason here as well. Over the past decade the number of homeless families, the number of broken families, and the number of children put into foster care have risen. Meanwhile the number of jobs, amount of aid available to those families, and affordable housing has dropped. Rebuilding after a personal disaster is all but impossible in many areas, with the government’s “plan” of action often come to little to late to do any help for the people who need it.
Help build new towns, strengthen local economies, and rebuild after a disaster? You bet. America has suffered as many disasters in the past decade as any other country, yet we have put far less effort in helping our own people than we have any of our so called “allies”. Hurricanes, ecological disasters, earthquakes, mud slides, forest fires, floods, tornadoes, ice storms, collapsing roadways, any of this sounding familiar America? We are ignoring our own country, our own people, in an attempt to create an image for our selves to the rest of the world. Our leaders get on the television and cry and about how we need to aid the rest of the world, but few mention the damage our own nations suffers every day.
Let’s start by revamping the system of checks and balances that govern the government. Because the one that is there now has not functioned in many years. Revamp the tax system into a form that spreads the weight equally across all people. Remove tax breaks for the rich, the companies, the ones who are sending the very jobs that could breath life back into America’s economy, but are sending all their jobs to India and China because of cheap labor and no or few work regulations.
Create a check and balances system for the welfare programs, so that citizens of our nation receive aid before illegal immigrants. Remove race as a determining factor of economic aid. What color you are, or where your ancestors came from, should not bias the system. Remove finical crunches for any group based on race or regional association that for to long have taught people of all ethnicity that the system will support you weather you give back to it or not. Enforce equality laws more, and enforce diversity laws less. While the diversity system was a good idea in it’s day, it is as broken as any other part of our government now. Only by viewing all members of our society, regardless of race, religion, sex, disability, or any other dividing factor, as equals will we begin to heal the wounds that have for so long gone untended.
These are just a few issues that we face every day, it is time for us to wake up, look at ourselves, and choose to right the wrongs that greed, corruption, and a hundred years of back room politics have heaped upon us.
Start thinking again America, and become that great and glorious dream that once was, and can be again.