Military Spending and Wars are Making Us Poor, by Mark Erickson Celebrity Guest Blogger

There has been a lot of misinformation and disinformation coming from people who want to privatize or weaken Social Security. This is not a debate. This is a fact. People suggest that Social Security is in crisis when in reality it can pay out full benefits for more than the next 20 years. Remember that Social Security is funded by a payroll tax. We’ve got a lot of problems in this country; Social Security is not one of the major ones. And to suggest that Social Security has contributed to the deficit is also wrong.

Bluntly said, the deficit is alarming. I distinctly remember when Ross Perot addressed the deficit during the televised presidential debate. He had charts and a fancy pointer. His concern about the debt and the interest paid as a result of the debt was no doubt influenced by his highly successful business career. Skipping ahead to January 2011, 50 years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell speech wherein he warned of the growing “military-industrial complex” (One can read about the rise of military-industrial complex through the lens of the nation’s largest weapons contractor, Lockheed-Martin, in Phophets of War, the recent book by William Hartung), Defense Secretary Robert Gates wishes to cut military spending by $100 billion over a five year period because he has recognized the confluence of bloat, current economic realities, and the need to rebalance defense strategies.

One measure identified by Secretary Gates is the elimination of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), the famous D-Day amphibious assault vehicle. Secretary Gates questions whether future wars need this outdated Marine vehicle. Personally, I have publicly questioned the V-22 Osprey helicoptor, which is prone to crashes and cost over-runs. In this connection, President Obama’s bipartisan Sustainable Defense Task Force on Pentagon spending identified nearly $1 trillion in potential cuts in Pentagon spending over the next ten years. The task force identified both the EFV and Osprey for elimination, which would save over $3 billion, and by not funding after elimination one could argue “ongoing” savings. Members of Congress from both major political parties (as well as representatives from the Tea and Green Parties) say dramatic cuts in Pentagon spending are necessary. So far, President Obama and Congress are simply talking about slowing the growth in Pentagon spending, rather than making real cuts. I digress.

President Eisenhower’s speech informed Americans that, “We annually spend on military security alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.” He also emphasized the need to balance between the 1) moment and future, 2) state and individual, and 3) private and public economy. After the November elections I repeatedly heard that America was angered by the size of government, i.e., the public employees (size of military and expenditures?…not), and that anger kicked out a bunch of incumbents. It seemed as though government workers had become the new illegal immigrants.

Government workers are the new group who are treated like parasites on the system; their jobs are illegitimate and disposable. Lawmakers gleefully talk about eliminating government jobs. The rhetoric would have us believe those aren’t even jobs. But government creates jobs. There are no private sector astronauts. None. Firefighters are government employees as are police. The district attorneys, judges, and bailiffs draw an Uncle Sam signed paycheck. Local government workers include teachers, sanitation workers, tax assessors, and librarians.

I have been a government worker for nearly 20 years. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, who delivered the Republican response to last week’s presidential address, said that “trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high.” My agency has been doing more with less for years, and now Obama’s Deficit Reduction Commission has frozen my pay. I understand why. America is clearly in dire financial straits. I understand why. Sacred cows cannot be spared in this environment. Military spending and war are making us poor.

– Mark Erickson