Trump backs $750 billion defence budget request to Congress - official

 

Dec 8, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; President Donald Trump stands with Naval Academy Midshipmen during halftime of the 119th Army-Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has backed plans to request $750 billion (£589.4 billion) from Congress for defence spending next year, a U.S. official said on Sunday, signalling a Pentagon spending hike at a time of potential belt-tightening elsewhere in the government.

 

Trump, faced with a budget deficit at a six-year high, told his Cabinet earlier this year to come up with proposals to cut spending by their agencies by 5 percent, but he suggested the military would be largely spared.

 

The $750 billion would be even more than the $733 billion request that the Pentagon had been expected to make for fiscal year 2020. It is also well above a $700 billion figure Trump cited in October.

 

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had discussed the budget with Trump in recent days and outlined the risks of flat defence spending.

 

The official said that it was clear during that discussion that Trump wanted to "accelerate the progress his administration has made in rebuilding the military."

 

In August, Trump signed a $716 billion defence policy bill.

 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-12-10

Defense budget? Seems to be more an attack budget.

20 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Defense budget? Seems to be more an attack budget.

It certainly is bizarre that a President who claims that the US is overly involved in foreign ventures and who wants allies to up their contributions to defense, supports continued massive increases in defense spending.

Almost a trillion dollar military budget and the USA can't even protect it's own border. The US congress is corrupt to the core. 

 

Eisenhower's warning still rings true today.

 

An 80-year old comic, but we don't need to change a thing.  

 

I guess the cost of trained killers has gone up?

As an American I am appalled .   The US already has the highest defense budget in the World prior to this announcement,

 

The uS Is involved in Afghanistan; Syria and funding Saudis Arabia's war with Yemen.  This costs billions each year.

 

The US is the only industrialized country in the World that does not have universal health care and it's citizens die or go bankrupt because of this.  Our students  pay so much for higher education that they are indentured to the US Government for 20 years after they graduate while other countries are providing tuition free education.

 

As a military veteran- I strongly support the US military in it's normal mission.  However, I cannot support the nonsense Trump is advocating with this ridiculous  increase in the defence budget.

 

Make peace with Iran- adhere to the already signed agreement; stop funding the Saudis; get out of Afghanistan and Syria and bring the troops home.  If you do this- you might be able to put money into healthcare and higher education.

 

 

Go Long Defense stocks.  With a $750 billion budget, the US will now be outspending every country in the world - combined - in military spending. As a US vet I want to puke.  What pittance goes to the joke we call the VA.  Not much.
Time to cut more social welfare programs, logjam veteran's programs, and add to the homeless population. 
"Hey, but we can bomb the living tar out of virtually any country in the world!!!"
Exactly.

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by connda

6 minutes ago, connda said:

Go Long Defense stocks.

I wouldn't count on it- If either Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders becomes  President- the defense budget will shrink  and also the bloated intelligence agencies which listen to every phone call we make and track  everyone around the World. 

 

This is not the America my father fought for in WWII and not the America I grew up in.

After many years promoted as Republican orthodoxy, eliminating the federal budget deficit is not an element of this budget. To pay for additional defense spending, the border wall and an infrastructure plan, funding would be cut from many executive departments and agencies.

What Trump proposed cutting in his 2019 budget, By Washington Post Staff Updated Feb. 16, 2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

Auuu shucks it’s just Donald buying friends at our expense it’s a win for him he doesent pay you do!!!and who are we at war with?the taliban and Isis are a large group of religious criminals or should I say a large group of criminals operating under the guise of religion so why do we need such a large budget?some piggies feeding at the trough???donald trying to protect himself???

Telling that nobody on here is defending this.

4 hours ago, Thaidream said:

As an American I am appalled .   The US already has the highest defense budget in the World prior to this announcement,

 

The uS Is involved in Afghanistan; Syria and funding Saudis Arabia's war with Yemen.  This costs billions each year.

 

The US is the only industrialized country in the World that does not have universal health care and it's citizens die or go bankrupt because of this.  Our students  pay so much for higher education that they are indentured to the US Government for 20 years after they graduate while other countries are providing tuition free education.

 

As a military veteran- I strongly support the US military in it's normal mission.  However, I cannot support the nonsense Trump is advocating with this ridiculous  increase in the defence budget.

 

Make peace with Iran- adhere to the already signed agreement; stop funding the Saudis; get out of Afghanistan and Syria and bring the troops home.  If you do this- you might be able to put money into healthcare and higher education.

 

 

The western world subsidizes its economy funding universal health care and the US subsidizes its economy through the military industrial complex. You have choices to make. You can't have it all. Of course, the US really goes overboard when it comes to its military. 

2 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Telling that nobody on here is defending this.

Well, it really is ludicrous and indefensible, 750 billion dollars is an obscene amount of money no matter how you spin it. And I'm quite sure in 2020 the military is going to want more than that, and Trump is going to back that as well .....

9 hours ago, attrayant said:

An 80-year old comic, but we don't need to change a thing.  

 

 

Sums it up.

 

It is completely obscene. 

15 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Defense budget? Seems to be more an attack budget.

Team America is currently bombing a half dozen or more countries yet has not a single declaration of war. This should be IMMENSELY disturbing!

5 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

And I'm quite sure in 2020 the military is going to want more than that, and Trump is going to back that as well .....

Can he do that from a jail cell?

15 hours ago, vinegarbase said:

Almost a trillion dollar military budget and the USA can't even protect it's own border. The US congress is corrupt to the core. 

 

Eisenhower's warning still rings true today.

 

This should be required watching in all universities and schools in the US.  Here is a definable point in history as Ike talks about "misplaced power" and the shift to government control of research and development. 

 

It's not only the "military/industrial complex" that Ike warns us about, but also the dependence of scientists on federal research funds to maintain their academic careers, with the resultant compromise of their "findings" (no matter what the subject of the research).

 

Ironic, too, that Eisenhower, the great general, should look forward to, as he hoped, a long period of peace, only to be followed in office by two Democrats who dragged the US into the worst military defeat in its history.  

(Not forgetting of course that the Republican crook and his war-criminal side-kick did nothing to lessen the savage killing of the Vietnam War.)

 

2 hours ago, blazes said:

 

 

It's not only the "military/industrial complex" that Ike warns us about, but also the dependence of scientists on federal research funds to maintain their academic careers, with the resultant compromise of their "findings" (no matter what the subject of the research).

 

I suspect this is a backhanded assertion about research into anthropogenic climate change.

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

 

I suspect this is a backhanded assertion about research into anthropogenic climate change.

 

Thank you SO much.  I'm glad you recognise the truth when you see it, no matter how veiled the reference....

But, seriously, I do congratulate you on your attentive reading.

3 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

Thank you SO much.  I'm glad you recognise the truth when you see it, no matter how veiled the reference....

But, seriously, I do congratulate you on your attentive reading.

And I congratulate you on your persistence in making baseless characterizations. 

14 minutes ago, stevenl said:

So, you think this budget of 750 billion is reasonable?

 

Its only around 4% of the US GDP, so when you put it in the scale of the size of the country and its economy - yes its reasonable. 

 

Plus it provides jobs, careers, healthcare, scientific research, etc to millions of Americans. 

 

Double plus it keeps the USA the most powerful country on planet earth. 

17 minutes ago, stevenl said:

So, you think this budget of 750 billion is reasonable?

I cant really answer that as I have not studied the issue in depth. I can say this:

 

1. I am convinced that there is a ton of waste and inefficiency. That needs to be addressed.

2. Military buildup can be an economic boon (ie see whats happening with Japan) to big business and small and to workers.

3. Too much Military spending diverts scarce resources from those things which the Government is also bound to fund, for example interstate infrastructure. 

4. Peace through strength.

 

Its a dangerous world and one cant be caught napping.

 

A post containing foreign language has been removed as well as the replies. 

 

Other off topic posts and replies have been removed. 

3 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

 

2. Military buildup can be an economic boon (ie see whats happening with Japan) to big business and small and to workers.

Whatever the merits of military spending may be, the economic benefits are comparatively meager. Military spending is mostly dead end spending. A fighter jet or a tank doesn't generate further revenue for an economy once it's built. In addition because military spending is so capital intensive, it generates a lot less jobs than would many other forms of government spending.

One copout, but UncleTouchyFIngers is honest. Thanks for your answer.

12 minutes ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

Its only around 4% of the US GDP, so when you put it in the scale of the size of the country and its economy - yes its reasonable. 

 

Plus it provides jobs, careers, healthcare, scientific research, etc to millions of Americans. 

 

Double plus it keeps the USA the most powerful country on planet earth. 

Reasonableness should be judged by the need. We have a President who says he wants to withdraw from foreign entanglement yet also wants to massively increase the military budget. Doesn't make a lot of sense. 

It's true it does provide socialized medicine which is something apparently right wingers sometimes approve of.

It's a very inefficient way to do research. Remember in the 80's during the Reagan military buildup? It drew engineers and scientists away from more productive enterprises. It's no coincidence that was the decade that saw Japan forge ahead in consumer electronics.

And because military expenditure is so capital intensive, and the end results of military production are economic dead ends (no matter what other virtues they may possess) it's a very bad way to promote economic growth.

3 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Whatever the merits of military spending may be, the economic benefits are comparatively meager. Military spending is mostly dead end spending. A fighter jet or a tank doesn't generate further revenue for an economy once it's built. In addition because military spending is so capital intensive, it generates a lot less jobs than would many other forms of government spending.

Nobody doubts the money could be spent elsewhere & with a greater impact, but that doesn't negate the need for military spending so im not really sure what your point here is. 

 

 

5 minutes ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

Nobody doubts the money could be spent elsewhere & with a greater impact, but that doesn't negate the need for military spending so im not really sure what your point here is. 

 

 

You invoked economic benefits to justify military spending. Not me.

And while the need for military spending isn't in question, how much spending is. Given that Trump has repeatedly stressed the need for reducing American military involvement abroad, a massive increase in military spending seems incoherent. Unless of course, you want more props for a parade.