There Is Plenty To Cut At the Pentagon

Hugh Pickens writes "William D. Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, writes that although we have been bombarded with tales of woe about the potentially devastating impacts of cutting the Pentagon budget 8% under the sequester, examples of egregious waste and misplaced spending priorities at the Pentagon abound. One need look no further than the department's largest weapons program, the F-35 combat aircraft, which has just been grounded again after a routine inspection revealed a crack on a turbine blade in the jet engine of an F-35 test aircraft in California. Even before it has moved into full-scale production, the plane has already increased in price by 75%, and it has so far failed to meet basic performance standards. By the Pentagon's own admission, building and operating three versions of the F-35 — one for the Air Force, one for the Navy and one for the Marines — will cost more than $1.4 trillion over its lifetime, making it the most expensive weapons program ever undertaken. And in an era in which aerial combat is of diminishing importance and upgraded versions of current generation U.S. aircraft can more than do the job, it is not at all clear that we need to purchase more than 2,400 of these planes. Cutting the two most expensive versions of the F-35 will save over $60 billion in the next decade."

Comments

Re:I say cut the F-35

[stevew]

You have never paid premiums. These are not savings accounts, they are taxes. Social security is the biggest ponzie scheme ever invented. That being said:

The 2011 defense budget was $687Billion. We are running a $1.6Trillion deficit per year right now and have been during the current administration. If you cut defense out completely we would have a $900 billion deficit PER YEAR!

The left needs to get off their political high horse and admit that we have a huge problem and it is called a huge and abusive government across the entire range of their activities.

Lastly - there ARE other models to pay for ones retirement. I believe it is Chile that has a system that is based on savings plans. Maybe that model. They did a transfer from one system to the other over time. Those on the current system stayed, while those entering the system stared on the new system.

We are to involved at calling each other names to look for fresh answers.

Re:I say cut the F-35

[ilicas]

since the government has already spent the money, i'd rather acknowledge this, and have you go bankrupt than have the government go bankrupt (or start devaluing currency so that it can pay its debts).