Progressive Ponderings: On the Ground in Madison, Part 4
by Joe Mayer
Feb. 24, 2011
One of the protestors’ signs in Madison read, “How’s the War Economy Going for You?” Most politicians of both parties are so captivated by our military strength that no thought is given about the effect this growing commitment has on us economically – individually and as a nation. This military mentality, morphing into an American “exceptionalism,” dominates our culture and dismisses the devastation we do to ourselves as well as to our world neighbors.
This year $1.4 trillion of our U.S. budget is discretionary with about 50% ($733 B) going to military and related security costs. This does not include the $170 B budgeted for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As political leaders, both state and federal, scream “we’re broke, we’re broke, we’re broke,” they refuse to include “cuts” to the defense budget. Even when these “cuts” do happen, they come after loading up on requests, so that the cuts actually are INCREASES.
While we believe “we’re number one!” and revel in our “exceptionalism” the world passes us by:
- U.S. ranks 25th in the world in infant morality, 21st in child mortality
- U.S. ranks 37th in the world in overall health care, 17th in life expectancy
- U.S. is the only industrial country in the world without universal health insurance
- U.S. has the highest level of childhood poverty in the industrialized world (1 of 6 children)
- U.S. ranks 49th in world literacy, 13th in college-bachelor degree enrollments
- Of the 650,000 homeless in the U.S. every night, 250,000 are veterans
Iraqis are emulating their neighbors by protesting an “imposed” democracy by their occupiers. Afghans have never stopped protesting its occupation by either the Soviet Union or the U.S. Our government must decide which side to take in our imposed “nation building,” sometimes regretting the results. Backing dictators in countries we call “democratic” has an imperialistic stench.
As the U.S. itself erupts we need to throw the cost of war on the cutting table. The $170 B proposed for fighting these wars would have provided:
- 2.6 million elementary teachers or
- 2.6 million Police or Sheriff Patrol Officers or
- 22.5 million Head Start Slots for children or
- 30.8 million college students receiving Pell Grants of $5,550 annually or
- name your greatest loss.
One encouraging note: a growing numbers of citizens are responding and making their voices heard. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker may have awakened the sleeping progressive beast.
So, how’s the war economy going for you?
(Part 1 of this series is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here.)
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2 Comments:
Joe,
First off, thanks for offering your thoughts … as you stated “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker may have awakened the sleeping progressive beast.” … your voice has been too quiet recently.
If you haven’t already read Claire Berlinski’s “There Is No Alternative”: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters yet, put it on your list.
Eric Cantor recommended it and it essentially outlines the game plan the Republicans are using … to win the last election cycle and thereby advance their agenda.
Considering the current attack on education, let us remember that Ms. Thatcher got noticed as Britain's Minister of Education when she increased the price of school lunches by one-third and abolished free milk rations for some 3.5 million primary schoolchildren. There were complaints especially that the abolition of free milk would cause the number of children with a calcium deficiency to increase from 13% of the primary school population to 34%. Some school administrators announced that they would pay for free milk out of local property taxes, but Ms. Thatcher put through a bill making this illegal. Even then, the poor Welsh mining town of Merthyr Tydfil went on distributing free milk because, as School Councilor Bryn Watkins said, "we know all about malnutrition, rickets and TB here." That revolt ended when local officials were notified that they would be personally liable for the milk bills of $5,200 a term.
The Republicans are pushing cuts in Pell grants, Head Start etc. meanwhile John Kline (R-MN-02) is co-sponsoring a HR 471 (with John Boehner R-OH-08) to return funding to the D.C. Opportunity System program --- vouchers for private schools … Obama had stopped funding it …. After all, four studies of the program by the U.S. Department of Education have concluded that it did not improve academic achievement. The final report confirmed that the use of a voucher had no statistically significant impact on overall student achievement in math or reading. In addition, all four studies found that students from “schools in need of improvement” which are the students targeted by the program, have shown no improvement in reading or math due to the voucher program. Private schools that are likely to get funding under the Boehner plan are operated by the Catholic Church … it should be noted that Mr. Boehner attended all-male Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School. In the first year of that original program was funded, the 14-member Center City Consortium of Catholic schools enrollment increased by 400 students due to this program. In the new program, Baptist, Adventist and Islamic schools are expected to participate. Diversion of federal funds to these schools, effectively creates taxpayers subsidized religious schools. What Constitutional basis is there for this expenditure of taxpayer monies ?
MORE to follow.
Your point of the expanded military expenditures on the national debt deserves to be put in context of the situation in Wisconsin. The complaint is that “government workers need to pay more for their healthcare and pension” is just as valid with the military. Sec. Gates has complained about healthcare costs noting that participant fees were set in 1995 and remain at $460 per year for the basic family plan and need to be raised. Additionally, pension benefits are available after 20 years. The structure is wrong … while many soldiers have served multiple tours, a July 2010 study by the Defense Business Board found that 560,000 troops have never been deployed, despite the demand of the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why because the Pentagon is a bureaucracy entrenched in itself. An October 2008 study, the Defense Business Board found that 42 percent of the Pentagon’s budget goes to overhead — including training, departmental management, and the general health program for service members and their families. These tasks are the primary duties of roughly 35 percent of the active-duty force, or approximately 500,000 people.
Heck, do you know how may musicians are employed by the military … and the pay ain’t bad as a musician would earn the rank of staff sergeant earns annual salary of $51,000 plus benefits … and that retirement after 20 years.
Yet Congress does not address these problems … heck the Office of the Secretary of Defense funds 65 boards and commissions at an annual cost of $75 million, that Sec. Gates wants to eliminate, but Congress rejected his request last week.
Governor Walker is winning because he has targeted “excessive demands of government workers” who they are willing to be part of the changes, so that he does not have to ask others to make changes.
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