Tag Archives: military spending

Why Can’t Democrats and Republicans Work Together?

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I am a non-ideological fiscal conservative and social moderate. I agree with Republicans on some issues and Democrats on others.  It seems to me that there is a lot of common ground between the two national parties and plenty of opportunity for working together.


For example:

  • The economy. Donald Trump was elected President with the support of blue-collar workers. He wants to help them out by speeding up economic growth.  But the Democrats also want to give a boost to the working class.  Why not lower the corporate tax rate to encourage multi-national companies to bring their profits back to the U.S.? Why not exempt small community banks from Dodd-Frank so they can lend more money to main street businesses?
  • Sustainable healthcare. After failing to repeal and replace the ACA, Republicans now have to accept that universal health insurance is here to stay even though it needs much better cost control. The popularity of employer provided health insurance makes single payer healthcare unacceptable to many. Two major changes are needed to lower healthcare costs.  The ACA Cadillac tax should be replaced by an upper limit on the tax exemption for employer provided insurance. The Medicare Part B premium covers only 25% of the cost of that program and should be increased on a means adjusted basis.
  • Immigration policy. With the unemployment rate now 4.4% and dropping, a huge labor shortage is beginning to develop which will retard economic growth. We now need more skilled and unskilled immigrants alike.  An expanded guest-worker program to meet the needs of employers should be created. Enhanced border security can be part of the mix.
  • Military spending. In a dangerous world we need a strong military defense. But there is a lot of waste in the Pentagon budget. Do we really need 800 foreign bases in over 70 different countries?  Nebraska’s own Chuck Hagel identified $25 billion a year in military waste while he was Secretary of Defense.

Conclusion. Here are just a few ways that the two parties can work together to address some of our biggest national problems. Faster economic growth and fiscal restraint just make common sense.

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Is the U.S. Military Big Enough?

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An Op Ed in the Wall Street Journal recently by former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, “Congress and Obama Depleted the Military,” argues that the Trump budget request of $603 billion for Defense for the 2017 – 2018 FY is not nearly enough to build an adequate U.S. military force.  Furthermore, the Cheneys argue that the Budget Control Act of 2011, which set up the ten year sequestration plan for discretionary budget items, should be repealed.
According to the Cheneys, “Providing for the defense of America is the most sacred constitutional obligation of the U.S. Congress.  If Congress fails in this, no balanced budget, no health-care reform, no tax reform, no entitlement reform will matter.”


The Cheneys are correct that the defense of America is the highest priority of our federal government.  But fiscal responsibility is also a high priority, especially when our public debt (on which we pay interest) now stands at 77% of GDP, the largest it has been since the end of WWII, and rising.
So the real question is: how large should our defense budget be to provide for a secure defense of our national interests?  A recent article in the New York Times  points out that:

  • Our current defense budget of $596 billion is more than the total of the next seven highest defense budgets combined.
  • We have 1.3 million active duty troops with 200,000 deployed in more than 170 countries.
  • The U.S. has 2,200 fighter jets, 193 of which are fifth generation, F-35 Lightening II aircraft.
  • The U.S. Navy has 275 surface ships and submarines, including 11 aircraft carriers, far more than any other single country.

Conclusion. The current U.S. military force is large and diversified. In fact there is strong evidence that it could operate more efficiently.  It is more than adequate to defend our crucial national interests.

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