Comments on: David Price and the Military Industrial Complex http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/2008/08/31/david-price-and-the-military-industrial-complex/ Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:29:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Bob Walter http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/2008/08/31/david-price-and-the-military-industrial-complex/#comment-6204 Bob Walter Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:30:10 +0000 http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/?p=314#comment-6204 Didn't know you were Republican when signed up. As a matter of my principles I do not support Republicans as candidates. Do appreciate your perceptions . Will help you in my way. Bucky Didn’t know you were Republican when signed up.

As a matter of my principles I do not support Republicans as candidates.

Do appreciate your perceptions .

Will help you in my way.

Bucky

]]> By: John C. Randolph http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/2008/08/31/david-price-and-the-military-industrial-complex/#comment-5296 John C. Randolph Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:27:52 +0000 http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/?p=314#comment-5296 BJ, I would suggest that cutting our military budget back by two-thirds would be a reasonable first step. That would still mean that the United States would be outspending every other country in the world by a hefty margin, but we could work on drawing that down over time. -jcr BJ,

I would suggest that cutting our military budget back by two-thirds would be a reasonable first step. That would still mean that the United States would be outspending every other country in the world by a hefty margin, but we could work on drawing that down over time.

-jcr

]]> By: BJ Lawson http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/2008/08/31/david-price-and-the-military-industrial-complex/#comment-5285 BJ Lawson Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:21:19 +0000 http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/?p=314#comment-5285 Two good questions. Regarding military budget, I don't know that it's possible (and I don't know enough) to postulate a reasonable military budget in the current environment. By "current environment", I mean an environment where there is so little accountability and internal controls that <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/31/AR2008033102789.html" rel="nofollow">budgets are essentially meaningless</a>: <blockquote>Government auditors issued a scathing review yesterday of dozens of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems, saying ships, aircraft and satellites are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. The Government Accountability Office found that 95 major systems have exceeded their original budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to $1.6 trillion, and are delivered almost two years late on average. In addition, none of the systems that the GAO looked at had met all of the standards for best management practices during their development stages. Auditors said the Defense Department showed few signs of improvement since the GAO began issuing its annual assessments of selected weapons systems six years ago. "It's not getting any better by any means," said Michael Sullivan, director of the GAO's acquisition and sourcing team. "It's taking longer and costing more." </blockquote> Disaster relief is something that is best provided at the state and local level, as well as by private organizations. The legacy of waste and crony capitalism in our increasingly federal disaster relief apparatus has been well-documented: http://www.homelandsecurityforsale.org/ Not to say that there aren't good folks in the federal government who are trying to help -- there certainly are. But we have been responding to natural disasters since our country was born, and ceding control during local emergencies to the federal government is a relatively new phenomenon. Two good questions. Regarding military budget, I don’t know that it’s possible (and I don’t know enough) to postulate a reasonable military budget in the current environment. By “current environment”, I mean an environment where there is so little accountability and internal controls that budgets are essentially meaningless:

Government auditors issued a scathing review yesterday of dozens of the Pentagon’s biggest weapons systems, saying ships, aircraft and satellites are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

The Government Accountability Office found that 95 major systems have exceeded their original budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to $1.6 trillion, and are delivered almost two years late on average. In addition, none of the systems that the GAO looked at had met all of the standards for best management practices during their development stages.

Auditors said the Defense Department showed few signs of improvement since the GAO began issuing its annual assessments of selected weapons systems six years ago. “It’s not getting any better by any means,” said Michael Sullivan, director of the GAO’s acquisition and sourcing team. “It’s taking longer and costing more.”

Disaster relief is something that is best provided at the state and local level, as well as by private organizations. The legacy of waste and crony capitalism in our increasingly federal disaster relief apparatus has been well-documented:

http://www.homelandsecurityforsale.org/

Not to say that there aren’t good folks in the federal government who are trying to help — there certainly are. But we have been responding to natural disasters since our country was born, and ceding control during local emergencies to the federal government is a relatively new phenomenon.

]]> By: Andy Camacho http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/2008/08/31/david-price-and-the-military-industrial-complex/#comment-5283 Andy Camacho Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:02:12 +0000 http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/?p=314#comment-5283 Hey BJ, Hope all is well with you, your family, and the campaign. Out of curiosity, what would you consider a reasonable military budget? Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures And what role do you think the Federal government should with regard to providing disaster relief to affected areas? Hey BJ,

Hope all is well with you, your family, and the campaign.

Out of curiosity, what would you consider a reasonable military budget?

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures

And what role do you think the Federal government should with regard to providing disaster relief to affected areas?

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