Military spending in the USA...shocking

[SHRED]

Wow. i didn't realize this.
More than all countries of the world...COMBINED!!!

And yet if you so much as whisper the desire for affordable healthcare for all, then you are "socialist", "communist", unpatriotic son of a bitch.

Check this out:
http://forums.sandiego.craigslist.org/?ID=45787057

[SensibleAmerican]

1. Mmmmm, within 5 to 10 years, China will spend more on its military than us

In the future, we need a strong military and it's because we didn't contain the right threats.

[niyad]

2. so we need to spend what a country of over a BILLION people is

possibly going to spend on its military? oh yes, that will be very helpful indeed.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. No, actually walmart shoppers are paying for the Chinese

Military, so in a sense the US is paying for them both. Contain China? You with the John Birch Society or something? What do you suggest?

[SensibleAmerican]

8. I suggest cutting off trade with China

It's an unpopular move, but I think it'll work.

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. Trade with the most repressive murderous regime in world history

was unthinkable, until they realized how much god damned money could be made by exploiting the cheapest labor pool on the planet. After that it was all about "free trade" and an endless flood of no-good chinese "goods".Never a discouraging word about chinese communism, just Cuban communism.
Free trade my ass, just try and sell a US manufactured good - a finished product into china and see how far you get. You'll find that that there is basically a total embargo on anything but raw materials and surplus heavy manufacturing machinery. I have personal experience with this very thing. THe only thing that could ever turn the tide of this shit is if energy becomes so expensive that it outweighs the cheap
labor advantage with shipping costs and powering remote manufacturing prisons/settlements.

[SensibleAmerican]

10. We have two diametrically opposed policies

On one hand, we tell Cuba ... we're not going to trade with you, we want you to whittle away and starve.

On the other hand, we give China, a country that has fought against us in two bloody wars, most favored nation status.

Free trade benefits China way more than it benefits us.

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/

[fat dad]

11. I suggest cutting off trade with China

That's not a bad idea.

[lakeguy]

12. right. where we going to get all that cheap crap that we

love to buy from walmart? never mind the fact that china could cripple us by calling for an instant payment of the debt we owe them. granted, it's not in their best interests to do this, but they could destroy our economy without firing one shot.

[tritsofme]

7. I doubt that

I don't think China has an extra $500 billion+ laying around.

[Erika]

3. Yet we are the only country in the industrialized countries

who doesn't offer universal health care for our own citizens, but we are paying for Iraqi universal health care.

Japan also provides complete health care for all and subsidence fundings for its seniors. They can draw companies there because the companies don't have to pay these costs for workers. The government does. Just like in every industrialized nation, but the U.S.

[sandnsea]

4. Been true for a long time

Even with the "drastic" cuts in the 90's, we were still spending more than the rest of the world combined. It's pure insanity. The ironic thing is that I always hear people, from both parties, complain about military spending - until election time. I don't know what happens to these people's brains when it comes time to put someone in office who will do what they say they want when nobody's running for president.

[Erika]

5. Money for military but none for societal needs

The Reagan touch.