installment of our 38 Billion "Military Foreign-Aid Deal" with Israel (which I don't understand why we even have as they are more than capable of defending themselves;

To put it bluntly: We're buying an alliance and hoping it doesn't backfire. Same way a dude pays a hooker and prays they don't catch anything.

Despite the insanely high cost for something not worth a 10th of that, the U.S. has too many politicians with friends that would choose Israel over America, which has resulted in the government being unable to stop hemorrhaging money. Having Israel as a friend wouldn't be that bad. I think we can agree the price is too high right now.

It'd be like if the U.S. was sending shitloads of money to the Vatican. No Catholic politician would vote to stop that flow of money. They'd increase it. Make it worse.

Separation of Church and State is a very nice idea that fails miserably when attempted. There's a reason China's got police raiding unsanctioned basement churches. They realize the threat a foreign leader poses if it continues to have control over a growing number of the population.

At the same time I recognize the abysmal treatment the Chinese people suffer under such an abusive rule. It sucks, but I'd rather spend the $38b and keep my freedoms then attempt a religious purge of the government.

I don't have an answer for the problems this country is facing. Nor can I perceive a solution. If by some miracle we stopped giving away free money, you said it yourself:

they are more than capable of defending themselves;

We'd lose them as an ally in an instant. $38b is nothing to sniff at. The second we stop becoming a wallet for them they will ignore us, or worse, declare us an enemy. Considering the sizable portion of their faith that co-exists in American politics an outright demonization of our country over money would prove to be quite damaging to any military assets we have in the area. That would have serious ramifications that could take decades to repair, if at all.

Blind hate has to be taken out of the equation when considering the bigger picture here. We need them more than they need us and they have the political control to maintain the arrangement in their favor. There's nothing I can think of that could change it.