Honest Question

submitted by smart_jackal from (self.technology)

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[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

True, but look at the states, many are in technical bankruptcy and cutting back on services left right and center. If it wasn't for the Federal SNAP program 50 million would be starving today and a balanced Federal budget would probably mean eradicating a lot of that and a lot of SS and a lot of the military. It's a dilemma, and dilemmas don't have solutions, only outcomes.

The outcome for the US will be the same as was for all past empires I assume, Loss of military power, in a BIG way, loss of lifestyle, loss of infrastructure, much of which is crumbling before your eyes now. Russia faced the same problem and they simply allowed an entire generation to starve when they cut all government services and went "capitalist" But they still have a good supply of conventional "cheap" oil and gas, which the US does not, and they sold it and funneled a lot of the money into their military.

Even Britain was able to pull itself out of the mire with it's north sea fields. Oil is the master resource, it's what made america great in the first place and is the reason you are so heavily involved in the middle east today of course. Once you cant project power abroad the game is over.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Yeah, we still need social programs, but the military budget should be slashed in half. We can do better with less, so long as the swamp is drained and every dollar spent is accounted for. Most of the military budget is wasted on things we don't need — and a lot of it goes "missing."

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It could be done, but the system as a whole would have to be totally dismantled. Just look at all the billions wasted on marketing and advertising that simply adds to the cost of the end product, often a product not even worth buying? Then there is the medical system and the higher education system, corrupt to their cores now and the waste there is immense! I could write a list that would go off the page, the money shuffling bullshit on wall street, the millions of government workers who are useless as nipples on a frog for the most part. The money wasted on drugs!!! On overpriced sporting events and music and movies, just so a few 'stars' and all the parasites under them can become obscenely wealthy. It all needs to go if you want to have happy families making a living wage again. Like back in 1950 when there was basically none of that shit.