The United States currently has a national debt of over $19 trillion dollars, with that figure steadily increasing at a rate of about $1 trillion every year since 2012. As a result, the defense spending budget for America has been a widely discussed topic as we seem to have lost control of our spending. For instance, before the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States had spent an average of $280 billion each year on its Defense Budget. Following the attacks, however, that number has soared and the expected budget for the fiscal year 2017 was estimated to be upwards of $850 billion (Otto 2015). That increased spending was justified by many due to America’s level of involvement in conflicts both in Iraq and Afghanistan that have spanned the last decade. However, as wars have slowly come to a halt for the United States, the need to regain control of our spending has become apparent.
One question to consider regarding defense spending is how funds were allocated between organizations, and which groups remain value added to the
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In 2013, the DIA decided to expand its traditional role of merely providing analysis in the identifying of targets. The program was, “aimed at transforming the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has been dominated for the past decade by the demands of two wars, into a spy service focused on emerging threats and more closely aligned with the CIA and elite military commando units” (Miller 2012). Similar to the case with General Dynamics, the CIA would train the new spies who would work under the DIA; however, their assignments would come directly from the Department of Defense. The difference, however, is that the CIA operatives would be “authorized to conduct covert operations that go beyond intelligence gathering, such as drone strikes, political sabotage or arming militants” where the DIA agents are not (Miller
One thing that I have learned about college is that you have to sometimes talk about things that make you uncomfortable or scared in order to learn. I do not think I am alone in saying that the United States’ current debt situation is terrifying. Ten trillion dollars alone is an expansive and unimaginable amount of money, and since PBS produced Ten Trillion and Counting in 2009, the national debt has grown to twenty-one trillion. As stated, the documentary was produced during the first months of former President Barack Obama’s first term and focused on former President George W. Bush’s relationship with national debt during his eight year tenure. Ten Trillion and Counting explains some of the questionable decisions that former President Bush made, especially regarding fiscal policy.
The draft is something young men fear and crave. Some fear they will lose everything, die or just not be the same if they get picked. I have met young men who cannot be in the military due to family issues, so the draft would come as a blessing. The draft is also very random, so both of those boys' chances of getting picked is also very slim. The draft reminds me of The Reaping from The Hunger Games, we pick your name out of a bowl and the magic of selection will decide if you go or not. Then your skill set will determine how long you live in battle. May the odds be ever in your favor, and don't forget that you're and accountant and have no hand-eye coordination! There are plenty of volunteers in America that will gladly serve our country if we need more soldiers, I personally think the wars have past their expiration date, and there are other jobs people can do
This group includes Homeland Security, Justice, Education, Transportation, and Veterans Benefits. These are all very important groups however, there should definitely be some changes made. “Transportation is getting $103 billion to be used for construction and maintenance purposes while education is only getting $68 billion” (Document D). Transportation is very important because we need to have safe roads and bridges to travel on but education just isn’t getting a fair cut of money. Road and bridge construction should only occur when we are in absolute need of maintenance.
Anonymous. "DIA Provides Strategic Warning for the Next Generation." Www.dia.mil. Defense Intelligence Agency, 11 May 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2013
“President Obama’s FY2014 base budget request of $552.0 billion in discretionary budget Authority for the Department of Defense (DOD) and defense-related programs of other agencies (excluding war costs), exceeded by $53.9 billion the legally binding cap on defense funding for FY2014 that was enacted in 2011 as part of the BCA.” Similarly, in their initial actions on the annual defense funding bills for FY2014, the House and the Armed Servi...
Forsling, C. (2014, September 9 ). Task and purpose . Retrieved November 16, 2017, from Task and purpose : http://taskandpurpose.com/real-problem-military-salaries-compensation/
Regarding the United States draft, poet Robert Frost once said, “Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.”
The country needs to start monitoring how the government is spending the federal budget and they need to start splitting it fairly to benefit our country. 83% of the federal budget is spent on the Big Five which are the main expenses in the budget. We have to stop spending it all on the Big Five. Our government should really pay attention to what we need most of in this country and focus on the needs. The government needs to take away 20% of the Big Five and split it to categories that need it.
Title I is funding for elementary and secondary schools in the legislation that was passed by Congress on April 9, 1965 (Phyllis McClure, Center of American Progress). Furthermore, this title is to ensure that disadvantaged children in middle to low class neighborhoods have a fair and equal opportunity to receive a high-quality education like other individuals in other districts. Moreover, Title 1 was also to help students reach at least a minimum score of proficiency on state standardized tests (U.S Department of Education). Also, the California Supreme Court in 1971 created the Pupil system to equalize the funding throughout the school districts throughout the state. (Margaret Weston, PPIC Publication). Title 1 funds are still used today in public schools.
The DIA started in 1958. The organizational structure of the DoD and U.S. foreign intelligence came to a new shape with the establishment of DIA. It was Robert McNamara, then Secretary of Defense, who came up with the concept of DIA in 1961. DIA gathers human source intelligence, analyzes technical intelligence, distributes intelligence/reports to the intelligence agencies, provides advice and support to the Joint Chiefs of Staff with foreign military intelligence, and provides military intelligence to combatant commands as its operational functions. A DIA director is supposed to be a three-star military general and DIA is believed to have employed at least 7,500 staff worldwide today. The DIA is a defense intelligence agency that prevents strategic surprises and delivers a decision advantage to warfighters, defense planners, and to policymakers. This paper will try to evaluate DIA’s role in US national security in present condition of massive budget deficits and increased congressional oversight, plus the intelligence capabilities of the Regional Combatant Commanders and the individual services like CIA and NSA.
Deficit spending happens when a government grows its debt, meaning that its spending is greater than its income. (Deficit Spending, 2008) Deficit spending is a fiscal policy, that when used appropriately can do some amazing things, like pull the United States up from its bootstraps effectively ending The Great Depression. President Hoover increased government spending by 50% and used the money to fund public works and infrastructure projects from 1928 to 1932. (Deficit Spending, 2008)
The U.S budget deficit over the years has been a problem but lately the deficit has shrunk. However, what made the U.S budget deficit get to where it is today and what will it be like in the years to come. Throughout the past the U.S has operated under a deficit. This means that the U.S Spent more money than it was taking in. The cause of the excess in spending was different depending on which year. Some of the causes were war, increase in spending , and economic downturns. There were different acts passed to try and control the deficit problem. The deficit at the present time is declining. This decline is due to the improving economy, sequester, and a tax increase on high-income households. The big factor that went into the decline in the deficit for 2013 was the payment that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made. The deficit decline in the present time may make some think the U.S could get out of debt but it has been projected that the U.S deficit will start to increase once again.
Government spending is a highly debated topic as to how much money should be spent and how it should be spent, but the fact remains government spending is rising each year and will become unsustainable in the future without major changes. Government spending is currently around 40% of GDP as compared to 7% at the start of the twentieth century (Chantrill, NP). Government spending has had ebbs and flows that can be traced since the start of the twentieth century, which include two world wars and a great depression. However, from the 1980’s through the early 2000’s government spending was lower to mid 30% range of GDP (Chantrill, NP). Increase in spending has been seen since the stock market crash of 2008, to the current levels of around 40% of GDP (Chantrill, NP). Various reasons are behind the major increases of government spending, but the “...
Since the attacks a number of civil defense programs have been initiated, which leads to more departments asking for an allowance within the national budget. This ultimately is leading to a larger and larger deficit that is quickly encompassing full percentage points of our GDP. There is a debate on how much defense spending is actually needed, because during the Clinton administration there were massive cuts to the defense budget, which lead to critics saying that our military force was in question. These same critics said that without the funds that had been cut-off by Clinton the military would spiral down to not being able to defend the homeland, let alone take on any offensive. The one argument I have is that President Bush was not in office long enough for his increased defense budget to take affect when he overthrew two regimes (Afghanistan & Iraq) with the same military force that was said to be completely ineffective because of lack of funds.
As both "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had various meanings sooner or later and transversely countries, the word liberal conservatism has been used in relatively different sanity. In political science, the word is used to pass on to ideologies that merge the support of capitalism, for instance value for contracts, protection of private property and free market require reference to validate with the principle in natural discrimination, the significance of religion, and the worth of traditional integrity need reference to validate in the course of a construction of inadequate, legitimate, representative government (Abdou & Zaazou 2013). It contrasts with traditional liberalism and particularly aristocratic conservatism, rejecting the belief of correspondence as a little in discordance with human nature, instead emphasizing the thought of natural inequality (Crozier. 2012).As the conservative thought in democratic countries hold typical liberal institutions such as the rule of law, private property, market economy, and constitutional representative government, the liberal factor of liberal conservatism