First it's a "Fiscal Cliff" and now it's called a "Sequester" whereby predetermined budgetary cuts are made resulting in massive unemployment and the end of all this mythical prosperity we have experienced during the past few years! No matter how this fiscal problem is defined, this nation has borrowed more than 16 trillion dollars of which $1.327 trillion was charged against our national credit card during the fiscal year ending in 2012.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has complained to Congress that huge cuts in the military budget will jeopardize the current military mission in the Middle East involving thousands of our friends and neighbors. It would appear he has a point; except, well there is this recent McClatchy Newspaper editorial pointing out there are more than 2,000 Abrams tanks sitting idle at the Sierra Army Depot near Reno Nevada at a cost of $8 million per tank. Moreover, Congress wants the army to build 280 more even though the Army says it has more than enough these tanks; instead, the military is pushing for development of a next generation tank. The Abrams is vulnerable to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other modern weapons thus rendering it to a multi-million dollar coffin.
As pointed out earlier in this continuing saga, by excluding Entitlement trust funds from the general fund, the actual Federal Revenue for FY 2012 is $1.628 trillion. The military budget during FY 2011-12 was approximately $740 billion, and veteran expenses add another $141 billion. The veteran expenses will not go away anytime soon, but it appears there is an urgent need to make massive cuts somewhere because this nation cannot continue to add to the more than $16 trillion national debt.
The military represents one of this nation's largest expenses. Possibly, this nation should consider a new strategy: "if you want our military help and our presence in your country, then you will have to pay for it." We cannot afford to be the world's policeman any longer and probably should consider closing down many of our foreign military bases.
Speaker of the House John Boehner claims "Entitlements" ought to be cut. Medicare was in the red $19.1 billion during calendar year 2011. Possibly the Administration might consider eliminating the huge Medicare fraud which is estimated at between $60-to-90 billion - but, of course, that would cut into the huge profit taking by organized crime. On the bright side, if this fraud "thing" is ignored and taxes are raised along with cuts in Entitlements for seniors and retirees, the U.S. can continue to give some $50 billion in foreign and military aid to the rest of the world. By comparison, if an ordinary person completely ignored the needs of his family and began borrowing money to give away to strangers, some sort of "rubber room" just might be in his future!
Obviously, there is a huge disconnect between our Executive-Congressional leaders and the man on the street. Apparently, actual problem solving is replaced by partisan politics and finger pointing comparable to playing the fiddle while our nation sinks into the abyss.
National surveys indicate Congressional credibility is at an all-time low and yet these same Congressional leaders keep getting re-elected which might indicate no one is paying attention.