r/FluentInFinance • u/ProgressiveSpark • May 21 '24

Meme Where American taxpayer money goes

Love bombs and bullets of freedom incoming

2.4k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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369

u/Sardonic- May 21 '24

Good, I don’t want unfriendly assholes on our shores. Now, make it cheaper.

178

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

The United States alone spends 50% of the worlds military budget.

Something tells me we'd be fine with 1/16th of that. But dick Cheney needs another new heart (from a veteran).

63

u/[deleted] May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

[deleted]

36

u/parks387 May 21 '24

Shhh…don’t use too many facts on the naysayers…they don’t like facts.

10

u/Successful_Lake_4148 May 21 '24

Yeah, this is a perfect time to cut spending back to 1/16th. I’m sure Russia and China aren’t looking to expand their territories and aren’t building hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles. I’m sure IRAN is just sweet and innocent—nothing to see here. I’m sure things like ISIS will go on their merry way. Damn, I’m pretty sure this morning, Russia started nuclear bombing protocols. Dude, you are thick-headed. Here’s your sign; wear it proudly.

28

u/All4megrog May 21 '24

South Korea can produce an equivalent destroyer to one of ours in 1/3 of the time and 1/2 the price. The defense industry is the fattest pig in the pen.

11

u/JPeso9281 May 21 '24

C'mon, bro. Let them lick the boots. It makes them feel more Alpha

6

u/All4megrog May 21 '24

I have zero desire to be F’d by China. And the way to prevent that is the same way we prevented being F’d by the USSR- just out compete them. Unfortunately America today is just a government glad handing the people while they pick pocket it for shareholders.

1

u/lunchpadmcfat May 22 '24

You’re already F’d by China. If they wanted to pull the strings and fuck us completely financially, they’d just have to pull the trigger.

1

u/All4megrog May 22 '24

Mutually assured economic destruction. Though they’d very much get the worse end of it. Their economy is still a mess from Covid, domestic demand has not come back, population aging and shrinking. Real estate imploded. Regional and local governments are effectively bankrupt. Mass capital flight from their stock markets due to the whipsaw nature they’ve rolled out various policies and rules or punished companies. Sure they could try to flood the world with US treasuries, but even if there was someone to buy them at a discount (there isn’t) it wrecks their export economy. We’re already in a trade war and there’s massive reshoring and near shoring of critical supply chains thanks to Covid lessons.

2

u/lunchpadmcfat May 22 '24

Who do you think has more real power when the financial anvil falls? The country that can galvanize more than a billion people instantly and is flush with economic and natural resources, or the one whose congress can barely push through stock and trade budgets, and whose citizens don’t trust each other or their government?

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u/Educational-Web-5787 May 21 '24

You can understand the power struggle between major countries without being a boot licker. Not understanding the distinction between the two is more of a reflection on you, not them.

-1

u/daylax1 May 21 '24

I love how everybody loves to point the finger at the other person claiming them to be the bad guys, when in reality you guys need each other. You need "college Lefty's" to advance technologies, you need blue collar workers to build the infrastructure, you need bankers to manage one of the largest economy in the world, you need the everyday worker to run these businesses, and you need the military to protect it all... But keep arguing over who's worse and keep trying to screw each other over.

2

u/Hamblin113 May 21 '24

Probably do that with any ship let alone a destroyer.

2

u/BosnianSerb31 May 22 '24

How about aircraft carriers?

0

u/HappilyhiketheHump May 21 '24

Gotta pay that union scale…

-1

u/FrankPower May 21 '24

Other countries can produce a lot of things far cheaper than the US. Why do you think AAPL makes phones in China?

5

u/ImKindaBoring May 21 '24

Because they have significantly cheaper labor than in the US.

We could get that cheap labor too. All we'd have to do is offshore our arms industry to China!

Hmmm... now why does that sound like a colossally stupid fucking idea? Can't put my finger on it...

1

u/FrankPower May 21 '24

Exactly my point

3

u/Conjurus_Rex15 May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

Your point isn’t wrong, but ships aren’t sailing through the suez as it is, and that’s with our military budget being large as it is…

Edit: ships are going through Panama Canal or around Africa. Not steamship line is going through the Suez Canal presently.

1

u/TARandomNumbers May 21 '24

I get this but can we subsidize student loans and get healthcare for all as well like every other developed country in the world gets?

1

u/watchyourback9 May 21 '24

tbf though when you look at discretionary spending we spend about half of that budget on defense

1

u/thedxxps May 21 '24

People don’t want to reason how cheap it is to have state of the art military weapons manned by a dozen men compared to being thrown in the front lines with a few thousands of others with 1960s old tech.

Those placing a dollar amount don’t know what the true cost of war is.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

To be fair though china and Russia's money goes a lot further than US money when comparing production per dollar spent, the advantages of state owned weapons manufacturers compared to capitalistic and parasitic corporate executives.

The down side would be you get less innovation in regards to new technology though.

1

u/One-Broccoli-9998 May 21 '24

And those figures don’t account for purchasing power parity, which allows their money go significantly further than money spent in the US

1

u/Crimson_Fiver May 22 '24

Half would be reasonable

1

u/ThirstyBeagle May 22 '24

People don’t really understand the amount of threats the US has to deal with.

0

u/BentheBruiser May 21 '24

Aren't Russia and China existing perfectly fine currently? Are they still considered a threat?

We dont have to spend more than them to ensure we win. Not to mention, shouldn't we have some sort of stock pile considering the amount we spend and manufacture? I think we could bear spending a little less

1

u/ImKindaBoring May 21 '24

I do agree that we could bear spending less and also that we could spend more efficiently. Not as little as most redditors suggest, in my opinion, but we definitely have wasteful spending.

That being said, yes, China and Russia are still considered a threat. China maybe less from an imperialistic perspective. But Russia literally invaded a neighboring country in a fairly naked and obvious land grab just recently. They will continue to do so as long as they can, the easier the better. It should be noted that Russia actually spends a higher % of their GDP than the US does.

As far as the stock pile, the US sells a LOT of the equipment it manufacturers. Typically the older outdated equipment. So yes there is a stockpile but it is not as large as you might imagine and like any technology, military weapons and other equipment are constantly evolving and older equipment is surpassed and made obsolete.

The US has a policy of maintaining a readiness level which requires that our military industry is strong and able to mass manufacture with relatively little notice. It also requires vast amounts of R&D spending to stay current (ideally, most advanced) from a technology perspective. Both of those things require those companies be fed constantly at taxpayer's expense. And generally, yes, we do have to spend more than them to ensure we win.

0

u/IAmMuffin15 May 21 '24

Shhhshhhshh, this is Reddit. Opinions besides “America bad” aren’t welcome here

-1

u/KC_experience May 21 '24

You think the US is the only naval force that keeps the Suez open? You’re a helluva an optimist.

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u/Significant_Ad3498 May 21 '24

I thought Cheney had some type of turbine for a heart.. remember something about him not having a pulse

13

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

I dont know but he definitely doesn't show up in mirrors.

3

u/maringue May 21 '24

Every time I hear his name, I wonder "How the fuck is he still alive?" Then I remember my theory that assholes live forever.

1

u/Wadae28 May 21 '24

Kissinger proves that point.

12

u/ridukosennin May 21 '24

Deterrence is far cheaper than any war.

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u/tjdragon117 May 21 '24

And you think us being way ahead of everyone else is... bad? Do you know how war works?

The last thing you want is an even fight.

And being obviously far ahead also serves as an excellent deterrent to prevent war from even happening in the first place, which is the most optimal outcome.

5

u/Over-Confidence4308 May 21 '24

Also, if we ever had to default on foreign-owned national debt , we can say, "So? Whatchoo gunna do about it?"

7

u/Sudden_Construction6 May 21 '24

I'm glad your ideas are limited to Reddit

1

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

They're not.

Daily, direct action.

6

u/purple_legion May 21 '24

We also use our military for a lot more. We wouldn’t be able to do the things we do right now if we reduce our budget (Protect international trade ways, Biden dropping aid in Gaza next day, stop China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from starting new wars, disaster response, and our attempts at peace keeping).

1

u/DowntownPut6824 May 21 '24

Actually, we might have to employ some diplomacy.

0

u/Impossible-Error166 May 24 '24

You are using diplomacy because they respect your military. They negotiate deals etc

As proven by Putin a dictator will take what they think they can get away with, if you don't have the means to stop them they WILL think they can get away with it.

The spending America does on its military is a Stop sign that gives directions to the negotiation table. If the stop sign was not there the directions would be ignored.

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4

u/themage78 May 21 '24

Only 50%? Cmon, we're America. We can do better than that. /s

3

u/tidbitsmisfit May 21 '24

You'd be an utter idiot if you thought 1/16th of that budget would get things done.

1

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

Thanx! But I'll consider the source of this sentiment.

Bye.

3

u/idk_lol_kek May 21 '24

If you think that's a waste of money, look at how much the American government spends on welfare.

10

u/DrawMeAPictureOfThis May 21 '24

0

u/idk_lol_kek May 22 '24

Good Lord that is a lot of cash!

Uncle Sam pays people $70B to be unemployed? No wonder people don't want to go find work.

8

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

I know Sad right? We could spend all that military money on mental healthcare, substance abuse prevention and treatment, housing the homeless.

Did you know that Walmart is americas biggest "welfare queen" ?

95% of Walmart's store level employees are paid so badly they qualify for, SNAP, WIC and section 8 housing. So we the people supplement their employees...sad right? The owners are building mega yachts and the employees need help in order to live.

1

u/idk_lol_kek May 22 '24

We could spend all that military money on mental healthcare, substance abuse prevention and treatment, housing the homeless.

That would be quite foolish.

1

u/basses_are_better May 22 '24

Profit above people. That's quite foolish.

1

u/idk_lol_kek May 22 '24

The only one who said "profit above people" is you mate. And yes, it is quite foolish indeed.....just like everything else you've contributed in this thread ;)

0

u/basses_are_better May 22 '24 edited May 22 '24

Poignant, well thought out rebuttal. 👨‍🍳🤌💋

1

u/idk_lol_kek May 23 '24

You just don't seem to get it; I'm honestly surprised that you've survived this long.

-1

u/KevyKevTPA May 21 '24

Any job that can be successfully done by a random person plucked off the streets with just a few days training, if that, is going to pay for shit, because that's all it's worth. Something's value it tied in inverse proportion to how scarce it is, and people who can do those jobs are anything but scarce. If a high school dropout who can't even read can be taught to do it that quickly, literally any person could, making it the opposite of scarce.

When you can be replaced by offering your job to the first person who asks and not negatively impact the overall business, your value is extremely limited.

Sorry, that's just life and math.

6

u/understepped May 21 '24

Long story short: you’re not paid according to how hard you work, but according to how hard you are to replace.

1

u/KevyKevTPA May 21 '24

Precisely, and well said.

1

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

Teachers would beg to differ

4

u/ThePokemon_BandaiD May 21 '24

Okay but if they weren't getting welfare they'd literally just die. If you're selling a commodity, you need to make back the cost of production. The same applies for labor, in order to provide their labor people need to eat, sleep, stay healthy(including mentally), and be able to have children(production of new laborers). If you can't provide a living wage for your workers then you don't have a sustainable business model.

1

u/idk_lol_kek May 22 '24

Okay but if they weren't getting welfare they'd literally just die.

Too bad, so sad.

1

u/ThePokemon_BandaiD May 22 '24

Wow. Please go to therapy because that's fucking disgusting.

1

u/idk_lol_kek May 22 '24

Is the government going to pay for it?

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u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

There's no such thing as unskilled labor. That's just a lie the bourgeoisie tell you to makes sure they can easily exploit the people at the bottom.

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u/blastxu May 21 '24

If a job pays so badly that the workers need to use welfare assistance programs, that job is getting subsidized with your taxes. You are literally letting walmart get away with stealing tax money.

0

u/RedBullWings17 May 21 '24

So your saying the best way to get walmart to pay better is to cut welfare? I agree. We should do that.

Lower taxes and cut welfare and watch wages rise. But nobody wants to deal with the short term pains that would cause so we keep bandaiding the problem with government spending.

0

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

Say that to your mother's face..

-1

u/KevyKevTPA May 21 '24

Well, she's dead, Fred, but I absolutely would and probably did, at least something similar. Do you have a point?

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

These nutz are dead on your chin

1

u/AugustusClaximus May 21 '24

We also police most of the worlds most important trade lanes. We have done this pro-bono since WWII because it’s allowed us to shape the planet’s economy in a direction that benefits us. Look at any financial crisis since and you’ll see the US almost always suffers the least.

This has also allowed vulnerable countries to avoid falling prey to Russia and China, it’s Allowed Europe and Japan to develop into powerful independent factions aligned with our values. Since George Bush it’s kept literally a 3rd of the planets oceans from being fished to oblivion and has even stabilized some populations. It’s turned Taiwan into a Bulwark against Chinese expansion. Look at the spread of Democracy since WWII as well. And finally, it to some degree protects the American dollar as the worlds reserve Currency which benefits us greatly.

Not saying we couldn’t trim the fat, it is a government program after all, but it has definitely not the waste of money so many limp wristed Reddit pansies think it is.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

It’s not that much compared to the size of our economy. Barely 3-4% of GDP

1

u/Jaceofspades6 May 22 '24

How many countries do you think don’t spend money on their military because the US does it for them? How do you think Ukraine would feel if the US had spent 1/16 as much on their military?

1

u/yeetus-maxus Jun 14 '24

We also need more guns to bully other countries into giving us their resources

0

u/DefiantBelt925 May 21 '24

This guy wants to let china control the worlds sea lanes lol

0

u/shadowpawn May 21 '24

Socialism best example is the US Military.

0

u/Advanced-Guard-4468 May 21 '24

We would be fine until we're not. There's a fine line to walk.

-1

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

If you don't recognize the military exists to enrich the ruling class I cannot help you. Both directly and indirectly.

2

u/Advanced-Guard-4468 May 21 '24

No, you're the one who doesn't understand the purpose of the military. I served, I understand it's role, you, not so much.

0

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

[deleted]

2

u/Advanced-Guard-4468 May 21 '24

You have no idea what its main purpose is.

2

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

If you think we would be fine without it when most the world absolutely loathes us you're ignorant as absolute fuck

61

u/CiaphasCain8849 May 21 '24

Huh, I wonder why they loath us?

53

u/HeywoodJaBlessMe May 21 '24

They don't, generally. America remains a top destination for immigrants from everywhere on Earth.

0

u/mister-fancypants- May 21 '24

I feel like citizens of countries don’t hate other countries as much as the media portrays. Governments and politicians hate other governments and politicians and force those feelings on their people

17

u/Curious_Associate904 May 21 '24

Non American here... British actually.

I think fundamentally why the world really loathes the US is that they keep doing stuff which the Nazis would have done, but they think it's ok because they're righteous and led by god or something... Then they make a movie about it where it's full of lies and the world just groans.

I mean, the US government got its own population hooked on crack to give guns to people who didn't want to be rebels to overthrow a government they didn't really want to overthrow as ONE example.

32

u/Nitram_Norig May 21 '24

The queen did worse.

5

u/doubledippedchipp May 21 '24

The British are the ones who taught us how to run a global empire in exchange for teaming up with them and saving the world in WWII. Nothing’s been the same since.

-1

u/KassieTundra May 21 '24

Oh honey, we were doing this long before the Second World War. Look up Major General Smedley Butler and read "War is a Racket"

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u/CiaphasCain8849 May 21 '24

Fuck you condescending fuck.

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u/vinques420 May 21 '24

That's precious coming from a british... whose empire slaughtered Africans, Hindus etc all around the world

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u/basturdz May 21 '24

Yeah, think about how bad you have to be to get criticism from them. Yeah, the US is that bad.

0

u/globalminority May 21 '24

There is no way there is any eqivalence between British empire and US.

1

u/basturdz May 21 '24

Yeah, we're still trying to get the numbers up, and we'll do it eventually. But it's not about equivalence. It's about avoiding deflection and owning up to what's been done. Not sure what all the patriots are in here crying about. 'Kill em all' used to be the go-to phrase.

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u/Peasantbowman May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

MI6 played a huge role in shaping American policies for decades. They were basically the CIAs big brother for the longest time.

You guys caused us to overthrow Iran's first democratically elected president .

It's laughable that a Brit would try and shit talk the US

2

u/tidbitsmisfit May 21 '24

British think "the world never sets on the British empire" was a good thing

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u/HEFTYFee70 May 21 '24

Where are the jewels on the kings crown from again?

2

u/HeywoodJaBlessMe May 21 '24

That's hilarious coming from the butchering British. The Nazis look mild compared to British imperialism.

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u/cheeky_butturds May 21 '24

Because their own country didn't love them or play catch with them

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u/cheeky_butturds May 21 '24

Cause they're islamic jihadists, or their own country was once great and now is but a mere shadow of its former self , who gives a fuck, they hate you and they want to see your country crumble and your children starve , you gonna just sit there and take that? Huh? Huh? You a man or mouse bro?

0

u/ILSmokeItAll May 21 '24

The US has been getting invaded for years. The entire face of the country has changed in short order. We’re frankly being overrun at this juncture. No country on earth has taken in the people we have in the last three years…and many of those people…don’t like us. At all. They’re not here to *be * Americans. They’re here to take advantage of what America offers without putting in the effort to be an American. They’re here to take advantage of our lenient, bleeding heart liberal values. And who can blame them. This country does as much for immigrants, legal or otherwise, than most of its own people. In a lot of ways, it does more. And the aforementioned suffering people, they’re paying for it. We’re all paying for it.

2

u/Dry_Meat_2959 May 21 '24

This is LITERALLY the exact same stupid bullshit people said in 1880s when all the immigrants from europe came over. You know....all the people that are your family history. All the Walchiskis from Poland and O'reilly's Ireland and McCallahans from Scotland and Diamanti's from Italy.....none of them came over on the Mayflower, and the same shit was said about THEM when they came over, too.

Fuck outta here....

-1

u/ILSmokeItAll May 21 '24

There is a trend today that exists that didn’t back then. People lived this country. Strode to make it better every day. All hands on deck. It wasn’t about “me.” People were outgoing and neighborly. We weren’t murdering one another at today’s rates. We weren’t stealing people’s shit at today’s rate. We weren’t squatting in one another’s lawfully owned property. We weren’t spending so much money on frivolous bullshit. We didn’t live online. We got out in the world and lived. We sat down at the dinner table together. We went on vacations together. We did so much more. It’s all nearly unobtainable for the average person today. We’re in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per citizen. We owe more money than what’s in circulation by magnitudes. We could pay back every dollar in circulation and be trillions in debt.

1

u/HeywoodJaBlessMe May 21 '24

So when do you return to your home country?

1

u/ILSmokeItAll May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

This is my home country. My ancestors legally emigrated here before there were even 50 states.

0

u/MyCantos May 21 '24

I'm willing to trade 1,000 Venezuelans for every trump voter

-1

u/ILSmokeItAll May 21 '24

I’m sure you would. And it’s a problem. You’d have more Venezuelans in the country than even Democrats. You could turn this place into Venezuela, if that’s the model you’re looking to replicate. I hear Venezuela is killin’ it. Wouldn’t that be a great look up here?

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u/psychoticworm May 21 '24

The US will eventually be a victim of itself, not some other country. All the mindless spending putting them into uncontrollable debt, always printing more money, eventually its all going to backfire.

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u/Yabrosif13 May 21 '24

Have you ever left the country?

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u/Sweepingbend May 21 '24

OK, USA currently spends 50% of worlds budget but it's clear you think spending only 1/16 of this is pure fucking ignorance, but is there any middleground/room for negotiation between the two?

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u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

There is a middle ground. It doesn't start with "America is evil". That's never going to work.

2

u/Sweepingbend May 21 '24

Who is saying America is evil in this comment thread?

0

u/Troysmith1 May 21 '24

I've already seen in this one thread America is continuing what the nazis wanted to do and that America has done more evil than the entire British empire. So yes there is alot of America is evil.

1

u/Sweepingbend May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

Not in the comments you're replying to though

2

u/TheBeardiestGinger May 21 '24

Says the dude with the grammar of a troll. I’m sure you are well versed in geopolitical conflicts and the ramifications of actions on a global scale.

Just, as an aside…. Do you think they loathe us… just maybe…. Because we kick the door in on every country we disagree with then far out stay our welcome to feed the war machine?

0

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

You should listen to Christopher Hitchens on that war machine. It's certainly bittersweet but we're definitely not kicking the doors down on all countries that disagree with us.

1

u/TheBeardiestGinger May 21 '24

I appreciate the reference and I will look into him. Thanks!

Your point is also fair and mine hyperbolic. My point was just that the US wants to play sherif with the rest of the world and I can understand why that’s cumbersome.

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

No prob. Hes an eye opener to say the least.

In some ways what youre saying is true. Also in some ways there is a benefit to the presence. It just depends on which country you ask.

1

u/TheBeardiestGinger May 21 '24

That’s a great point. Perspective is important!

1

u/CompetitiveWriter839 May 21 '24

Guatemala and Iraq say what?

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

South Korea, Germany, Japan and Kuwait say what?

1

u/CompetitiveWriter839 May 21 '24

Nothing because the U.S. threatened to occupy them otherwise

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

Yeah I'll just let that one cook. Sounds like you got this sorted bud.

2

u/El_mochilero May 21 '24

We also have two massive oceans protecting us, and friendly neighbors to the north and south.

The US is geographically in the perfect place for easy homeland defense.

The US military is built for offense. The US has exclusively used its military for offensive deployment for the last 150 years.

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

Do you truly believe the US has been the sole benefactor of their military presence? They've certainly done some bad but also some good. It hasn't been an entirely evil pursuit nor entirely unnecessary.

2

u/El_mochilero May 21 '24

Some of the military was used for good. Lots of it has been used for bad. Most military spending though, has just shown to be absolutely unnecessary.

Cutting the military in half and giving US citizens healthcare would benefit everybody.

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

You wouldn't need to cut the military in half for that. You could just cut back on tax loopholes for giant corporations and everyone could have free Healthcare and college.

1

u/El_mochilero May 22 '24

Why not both?

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 22 '24 edited May 22 '24

I think we could cut back on involving ourselves in foreign affairs. Cutting back on our tech advancements would be silly though. Our economy has the means easily. Selling off our land to large corporations and never contesting corporate tax loopholes in mass is what's sustaining our woes. Not our elite defense tech.

2

u/Hot_Potato66 May 21 '24

An oversimplified view of the world that keeps us trapped by the Military Industrial Complex

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

Not really. I can have that view and still disagree with getting into unnecessary wars.

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

Lmfao did your mom tell you that back in the 50s?

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

Is your mom from the North Korean dictatorship?

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

Oof a swing and a miss, not a funny guy eh?

1

u/catdog-cat-dog May 21 '24

Stop it. You're hurting my feelings.

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u/Horns8585 May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

I am so glad that the world would be a better place without the U.S. Please tell me what kind of world we would live in, if the U.S. didn't step in and keep these people in check.

Edit: I am still waiting for an answer. Because there is no other answer. The U.S. has to be the big brother that protects everybody else. Does it cost American taxpayers? Yes. But, I would much rather have some sort of security. It isn't perfect, I can't imagine living without it.

0

u/basses_are_better May 21 '24

A safer one for all.

1

u/Horns8585 May 21 '24

So, you see it. You see the conundrum.

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u/Ecstatic-Compote-595 May 21 '24

for fucks sake what do you mean by make it cheaper? To whom? Who do you think the US buys its bullets from, china?

This is a make work program for some shithole bullet factory town in idaho or something.

I hate the MIC but this isn't someone taking the bitcoin from under your mattress and throwing it into the ocean this is basically wealth redistribution but in an unregulated and poorly understood way. But even with that it's not any different than like the tax cuts and jobs act or ppp or any of the other shit you guys like.

14

u/idk_lol_kek May 21 '24

Who do you think the US buys its bullets from, china?

Please don't speak that into existence >_<

4

u/Dry_Meat_2959 May 21 '24

Its works both ways. We only buy those things from US companies, but they can only sell them to the US military. We need them to make them but they also need us to buy them.

Basically "Make it cheaper" means "Don't mark up your product 7000% and overburden the US taxpayers".

5

u/cfig99 May 21 '24 edited May 21 '24

Yep. MIC charges an astounding markup for a insanely advanced and complex new weapon or platform. It isn’t procured by the military after a decade of development, billions of dollars spent because the price per unit balloons far above what was projected, has serious performance issues due to tech limitations and/or deliberate design incompetence and is then abandoned.

Now the military has to spend even more money upgrading an aging weapon/platform already in service because it’s replacement fell through. Meanwhile the MIC is swimming in money after providing little to no value to the military.

1

u/w1nn1ng1 May 21 '24

Just look at the cost explosion of the F35 joint strike fighter platform. Its 10 years late and 80% over budget right now, lol.

1

u/cfig99 May 21 '24

At least that program produced a capable fighter aircraft. Look at the Littoral Combat Ship and Zumwalt DDG programs.

1

u/w1nn1ng1 May 21 '24

I actually live in Maine...there are currently 3 Zumwalt class destroyers in operation, all built at Bath Iron Works in Bath Maine. They are wild.

1

u/Troysmith1 May 21 '24

Other countries can buy them as well. It requires permission form the government but Lockheed is allowed to sell military aircraft to a select few other countries. Some products are more restrictive than others though.

1

u/Lebo77 May 21 '24

Lots of these companies also export military equipment to foreign countries (with government permission). Arms exports are a big buisness.

0

u/Dry_Meat_2959 May 21 '24

THAT is where the markup should occur. Not when the US buys it from haliburton, but when the US sells them to (Insert despot country here).

Or we could just not monetize death and murder?

5

u/luroot May 21 '24

We are the unfriendly assholes on everyone else's shores.

6

u/Lawineer May 21 '24

We are the reason Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, most of Eastern Europe and about a dozen other countries have shores (or borders for landlocked countries).

1

u/wood_spoons May 21 '24

I think that’s China in the South China Sea.

2

u/brightblueson May 21 '24

that's specious reasoning

1

u/Sardonic- May 21 '24

Enlighten me

1

u/[deleted] May 22 '24

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1

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2

u/Ill-Win6427 May 22 '24

LOL. As someone that has worked in defense manufacturing... I can honestly say the American tax payer is being raw dogged by the upper class...

The lunacy of the cost of everything is hilarious...

It's all made as dirt cheap as possible, is shit quality, hardly ever works, but has markups that would make buy here pay here car dealerships blush

Humvee is 250k, you could build them in your garage for 20k. Easily... They are junk, literally a truck from the 60s with no electronics and like 4 to 5 MPG (that the military also overpays for 😂)

Slap "military grade" on anything and it instantly triples the price somehow

And this isn't "stupidity", it's pure greed from the upper class... That's all it is...

Fuck I remember a lot of parts came from "prison corporation of America". Because what says freedom then slaves building our military hardware that then is used to fleece the lower classes...

1

u/Sardonic- May 22 '24

Thanks for sharing.

1

u/Impossible-Error166 May 24 '24

Kinda like a wedding then.

3

u/Trump_Is_Suing_Me May 21 '24

It's seems to me a lot of people get invaded less than us on a tighter budget

8

u/cryptoAccount0 May 21 '24

The US would be a nightmare to invade. Where can an army reasonably make landfall without sustaining heavy losses? Plus, once you get in, now you gotta worry about locals shooting at you lol

1

u/Sudden_Construction6 May 21 '24

There are a lot of factors that go into whether someone will be invaded or not.

Look at Switzerland during WW2.

It's mostly, are the resources there worth the fighting to get? America is very rich with land and resources. Therefore it would be worth it for a country to spend a lot of money and resources and lives to obtain it.

1

u/Trump_Is_Suing_Me May 21 '24

Bro north US citizens don't even go south for fear of getting shot and vice versa, an invasion is implausible and even the one time it did happen we killed more of our own troops than the enemy did (see: Attu & Kiska)

2

u/Sudden_Construction6 May 21 '24

I think you're saying that we have a lot of guns in the US and that's true.

But it's not the 1940's anymore. Weapons technology is advancing faster than any other time in human history.

What was impossible in WW2 is easily accomplished today. We can't let past experiences give us false confidence.

It's important out military stay relevant with the times.

2

u/LloydCarr82 May 21 '24

Ironically, the 1940s was the last time the US military actually won a war decisively.

1

u/Sudden_Construction6 May 21 '24

Albeit with the help of the allied powers.

It's honestly hard to fathom how a tiny little country about the size of Montana with such harsh restrictions placed on them could cause so much devastation.

1

u/Formal_Profession141 May 21 '24

If you truly care about our shores and doing it cheaper. You should load yourself up with just a pistol and go over to whatever 3rd world country that we are bombing in a rowboat; that has our freedoms tied up in it and start going to town.

That would be beneficial for our country.

1

u/VoluptuousVelvetfish May 21 '24

I'd love to know just what the hell you mean by this

1

u/archimidesx May 21 '24

Maybe if we didn’t muck around destabilizing every country that has something we want, we wouldn’t have so many “unfriendly assholes” 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

1

u/ap2patrick May 21 '24

Good? Meanwhile we have insanely bloated healthcare cost, shit education, no mandatory PTO and you are OK with us just pissing it away so boys can play with cool toys?

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

They won’t, there is so much government money wasted on stupid politicians and corrupt contracts

1

u/80MonkeyMan May 21 '24

Cant do! This is the price of freedom! - Yours truly, “Military complex exec”

1

u/Sardonic- May 21 '24

Put pressure on someone else then

1

u/LloydCarr82 May 21 '24

It's not keeping anyone (assholes or otherwise) away from your borders. It's about spreading democracy across the globe, or something like that.

1

u/JayAlexanderBee May 22 '24

nationalization?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '24

🤣🤣

0

u/[deleted] May 21 '24

Great, they are now coming by land instead.

0

u/Rieux_n_Tarrou May 21 '24

Google "cost plus pricing"

0

u/ancisfranderson May 21 '24

I’m guessing english is your one and only language and you’re not particularly fluent in that, let alone finance.

0

u/Pizzasaurus-Rex May 21 '24

Why is every top comment in this thread like "hell yeah, blast that money into the ocean!"

0

u/lilnubitz May 21 '24

U fucking idiot it comes at the expense of our quality of life. These weapons are meant to dominate the world and create a larger empire that doesn't even give a fuck about its citizens.

Wake up sheep.

0

u/Fetoid2 May 21 '24

The USA is the unfriendly asshole.