VIDEO-MARK LEVIN-THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
Wednesday, June 7th, 2023
A US soldier stands at the Qayyarah military base during the ongoing operation to recapture the last major Iraqi city under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in October 2016 (Photo: YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)American military superiority has eroded seriously in the last decades. This was the conclusion of the latest report by the National Defense Strategy Commission, a bipartisan body charged by Congress to evaluate the U.S.’ defense capabilities.
The commission said the erosion was to such a “dangerous degree” that “America’s ability to defend its allies, its partners, and its own vital interests is increasingly in doubt.”
The report further stated, “If the nation does not act promptly to remedy these circumstances, the consequences will be grave and lasting.”
It notes that due to the superiority of American military power in the past, the U.S.:
“Put simply,” the report states, “U.S. military power has been indispensable to global peace and stability—and to America’s own security, prosperity, and global leadership.”
One of the main reasons America has seen its military edge slip away is budgetary cuts, which have prevented “essential … modernization” that have contributed to shortfalls in readiness.
Those of us that understand the dis-ingenuousness of politicians who promise but neverdeliver are seeing once again the Congress has passed a six month budget that will cost usmore than $1 trillion, ‘funded’ with debt and will not address important issues that willnow have to wait until 2020 when another budget will be due!Three key campaign issues of President Trump, defunding of Planned Parenthood andsanctuary cities, and building the wall on the Southern border are not included in thisbudget to the satisfaction of Democrats and half of Republicans than couldn’t careless about the president’s promise to the people that elected him.Even one issue Democrats say are deeply concerned about, ‘Dreamers’, DACA childrenare also not protected, even though it really doesn’t hurt their cause as until legislationis written they’re here to stay and the “chain’ of relatives also will not be deported.This was enough to warrant a presidential veto which did not occur, but, will it beenough to give Democrats a Congressional majority in November?What else is in this legislative concoction? The following are requests from the TrumpAdministration which were rejected.1. No increased in the number of ICE ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement)2. Detention centers for apprehended illegals are not being increased.3. Sanctuary cities will continue to be funded.4. Only 33 miles of new fencing on the Texas border will be funded, none mayresemble the wall prototypes being tested.5. Funding to enhance border security of nations in conflict in the Middle East,not here in the United States.6. African Development Foundation, Corporation for National Community Service,Corporation for Public Broadcasting ALL will receive funding.7. The National Endowment for the Arts & Humanities did get a cut, $1000 less thanthe combined $300 million received in previous budget!8. Woodrow Wilson Center, a “think tank” receives $12 million.9. Planned Parenthood gets $500 million a year.Many organizations on this list are self sustaining, pay their executives and employeeshandsomely, yet each year they grovel to Congress for more funding, all indifferentto the great debt taxpayers carry.
Conservative economists tell us the only way we can work through all the debt that is piling up is through growth in our economy (3% or more) if spending is not reduced. The tax reform proposals that congress are considering seems to be our only hope as entitlement spending continues to take up more and more of our budgets. (no one seems to want to cut entitlements !) If you feel strongly about our rising debt, contact your representatives and tell them that lower tax rates and tax reform are urgently needed to spur growth in our economy. If no action is taken, one day, this debt bubble will burst and our children and grandchildren will find it impossible to dig themselves out of the mountain of debt we are creating. NancyU.S. Record Levels Of Debt – Who Cares?
Mark W. Hendrickson
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Forbes.com.
Do you remember the band Chicago’s 1970 single, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” I thought of it the other day in connection with the U.S. debt problem, except I tweaked the lyrics: “Does anybody really know how much debt there is? Does anybody really care?”
Indeed, there are oceans of red ink all around, but the collective response of Americans is massive indifference. It isn’t because the problem isn’t being reported. All year long, the financial press has dutifully reported record levels of debt, but all the public does is yawn – and continue to borrow. Here are some 2017 headlines:
“Americans now have the highest credit-card debt in U.S. history,” Marketwatch.com, Aug. 8
“Student Loan Debt in 2017: A $1.3 Trillion Crisis,” Forbes.com, Feb. 21
“A record 107 million Americans have car loans,” CNN Money, May 19
“U.S. Household Debt Hit Record in First Quarter,” The Wall Street Journal, May 17 (according to the Federal Reserve, household debt rose $114 billion to another new record in the second quarter)
“Corporate debt is at new highs…,” CNBC.com, April 11
Fort Riley, Kan.
EXCERPT FROM THIS ARTICLE: How did we get to this point? During the Cold War, the massive U.S. forces that patrolled the West German border—nearly a quarter-million soldiers strong—were the best-equipped and readiest in the Army. Today the “frontier of freedom” in Europe has moved 1,000 miles east and runs from the Baltic to the Black Sea, but U.S. forces have neither moved with it nor retained their size. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who commands U.S. Army Europe, says his job is to make 30,000 troops “look like 300,000” to the Russians.
President Obama announced the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) in 2014 to “reassure allies of the U.S. commitment to their security and territorial integrity as members of the NATO alliance.” The initiative promised increasingly large summer exercises with allied militaries and new “heel to toe” rotations of Army heavy brigade combat teams.
As usual, however, the Obama administration sent mixed messages. Even while trumpeting the ERI, it continued drawing down the permanent U.S. garrison in Europe and funding it through the Defense Department’s Overseas Contingency Operations account. Even more telling, the administration reduced the overall size of the Army from its Iraq-surge strength of about 560,000 to today’s approximately 470,000, without measurably reducing U.S. military commitments world-wide.
Ben Carson was the first neurosurgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins, so, he’s kind of a super hero.
But apparently, he’s also not a bad accountant.
President Trump picked Carson to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, whose budget grew by leaps and bounds under Barack Obama.
In one of his first acts as HUD Secretary, Carson ordered an audit of the agency. What he found was staggering: $520 billion in bookkeeping errors.
“The total amounts of errors corrected in HUD’s notes and consolidated financial statements were $516.4 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively,” the auditors wrote.
But there were plenty of other problems, too.
There were several other unresolved audit matters, which restricted our ability to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to express an opinion. These unresolved audit matters relate to (1) the Office of General Counsel’s refusal to sign the management representation letter, (2) HUD’s improper use of cumulative and first-in, first-out budgetary accounting methods of disbursing community planning and development program funds, (3) the $4.2 billion in nonpooled loan assets from Ginnie Mae’s stand-alone financial statements that we could not audit due to inadequate support, (4) the improper accounting for certain HUD assets and liabilities, and (5) material differences between HUD’s subledger and general ledger accounts. This audit report contains 11 material weaknesses, 7 significant deficiencies, and 5 instances of noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The same problems were detailed for each of the last three audits, and the auditors say the continued problems “were due to an inability to establish a compliant control environment, implement adequate financial accounting systems, retain key financial staff, and identify appropriate accounting principles and policies.”
So, look for Carson to get out his scalpel and start operating. Or perhaps he’ll use a machete
What happened to the strong military support that President Kennedy had from hisDemocrat Party supporters? He actually increased military spending. Those days are gone as the Far Left has been very successful in changing the direction of the Democrat Party over the past 40+ years. NancyVIDEODAILY CALLERWATCH: GOP Congressman Booed By Leftist Activists After Vowing To Support More Funding For U.S. Military
Liberal activists booed Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Trott Saturday morning after the two-term congressman vocally supported increasing funding for the United States military.
Speaking to a packed ballroom inside a suburban Detroit convention center, Trott hosted his first town hall meeting since the 2016 elections, where he echoed President Donald Trump’s call for higher levels of military spending.
Many attendees were reportedly affiliated with the liberal activist group, Michigan People’s Campaign, which has been asking Trott to host a town hall ever since his reelection. The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the Michigan People’s Campaign for comment and received no response.
These are the promises that Trump ran and won on. Call or write to your representatives in congress if you agree that these cuts need to be made. Without those of us at the grassroots letting our voices be heard, congress won’t have the backbone to do this. NancyTHE WALL STREET JOURNALTrump Budget Seeks Big Cuts to Environment, Arts, Foreign Aid
EPA, State Department are among those to see sharp spending reductions to offset military outlay in White House plan
March 16, 2017President Donald Trump called for sharp cuts to spending on foreign aid, the arts, environmental protection and public broadcasting to pay for a bigger military and a more secure border in a fiscal 2018 budget blueprint released Thursday.
The budget proposal is certain to run into stiff opposition in Congress, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have already signaled they are unlikely to enact Mr. Trump’s deep cuts when they pass spending bills that actually fund the government.
The budget proposes hefty cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health and the State Department. It also seeks to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and other independent agencies long in the crosshairs of some conservative Republicans.
The cuts, if enacted, would mean some agencies would have to lay off federal workers, though the budget doesn’t always offer exact head counts. It does specify that cuts to the EPA “would result in approximately 3,200 fewer positions at the agency.”
“You can’t drain the swamp and leave all the people in it,” said Mick Mulvaney, the president’s budget director. “I would expect there would have to be reductions of forces at various agencies.”