Defense Spending
When the terrorist attacks occurred on 9/11 it did more than just affect the comfort level of American citizens. It had an all around impact on how this country will be run for years to come. The one economic impact that I will concentrate on is that the attacks, arguably, but directly effected the U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and how the national budget will be handled from that day forward.
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.
Regardless of what the "poor" military was able to accomplish President Bush has promised to make more funds available for national defense and to pay for the occupation
of those under U.S. control. Under this promise on November 24. 2003 the president signed an authorization bill to set aside 401.3 billion dollars for the Department of Defense. This p...
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...buy 295 F/A-22 Raptor fighter planes that are from the Cold War era
$74.0 for 30 Virginia-class submarines to add to what is already the best and most up to date submarine force in the world
$16.0 on 650 Comanche helicopters despite the Army eliminating their primary missions of transport and attack
$46.0 to buy 458 V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor helicopters that have continuing safety problems and has already caused the deaths of 23 Marines this year
I am not saying that civilians are losing by putting so much money into military purposes, because without their research spending there would not be some civil resources that are important to everyday life that were developed by the military. There are just many military expenditures that could be cut in order to free up more money for other usages so that the civil economy doesn't have to carry such a burden from it.
Our Preamble lists five main goals that are required to help create a strong and stable society within our country. However, money is required in order to achieve these goals. We get this money from the Federal Budget which is the yearly amount we receive in order to better our country. The question here is, are we slicing the pie correctly in relation to the federal budget? In each of three budget clusters, the U.S Government should make adjustments in the way it is distributing money by making changes involving the Big Five, the Middle Five, and the Little Guys.
* There had been several billions of dollars spended since the war on terror began.
“The Price of Military Folly.” U.S. News Online. 1996. 10 April 2000 . Robinson, Linda.
9/11 was one of the most devastating events in American History. Four hijacked passenger airplanes killed almost three thousand people. 9/11 changed millions of lives forever. American Citizens didn’t feel safe. This attack was a wake-up call to American security. 9/11 forced the country to acknowledge its shortcomings and fix them, before any more harm could come upon the United States of America. 9/11, as all acts of terror do, promoted the growth of technology, in this case, security in the United States. 9/11 also brought about feelings of hatred to the country. The United States soon became known as one of the most intolerable nations on this planet. Lastly, 9/11 butchered the economy and forced it down a long road to recovery.
On September 11, 2001 New York came upon a terrorist attack. The terrorist hijacked four airplanes the morning of the attack. The attack was part of the Al-Qaeda Islamist group, led by Osama Bin Laden. Two planes collided into the World Trade Center; one hit the Pentagon, and the other one crashed in Pennsylvania never reaching its destination. The cause of 9/11 is that Islam saw the United States as a heinous country with different and awful morals so they decided to attack. The consequences were the tensions between Americans and Muslims rose. Numerous hate crimes were committed and there was a massive economic downfall. We could have avoided this incident if the airport security would have been more strict, then the attack would have a less chance of happening (Bantista). “Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts. Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward. And freedom will be defended.” –President Bush directly after the 9/11 attacks (Tsimelkas). The government issued extreme changes in the military system and the surveillance ...
B. The 9/11 attack had immediate and long-term economic impacts, and to this day some continue. The economic effects coming from the September 11 attack were initially shocking. It caused global stock markets to drop sprucely. The September 11 attack resulted in approximately 40 billion in losses of insurance. It led to one of the biggest government spending programs in the U.S. history, the War on Terror. The biggest economic impact of 9/11 was how the increased defense spending led the U.S. to a debt crisis.
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.
September 11, 2001 is known as the worst terrorist attack in United States history. On a clear Tuesday morning, there were four planes that were hijacked and flown into multiple buildings by a terrorist group named al Qaeda. This group, led by Osama bin Laden, killed nearly 3,000 people. Out of those 3,000 people more than 400 police and 343 firefighters were killed along with 10,000 people who were treated for severe injuries. Many lives were taken, and to this day, people still suffer from the attack. September 11th is the most influential event of the early twenty-first century because it made an increase in patriotism, it caused a rise in security throughout the nation, and it had a tremendous effect of thousands of lives.
However, in the long-term there is a huge risk of deficit spending hindering economic growth. Economics is a balancing act, I think that if deficit spending is applied in specific areas that are of the greatest need for a very limited period then it is beneficial. I think currently the best reason to increase deficit spending it would be in infrastructure. We hear all the time that our bridges are crumbling, and are far past their life expectancy. We also could use some significant upgrades to our power grid, as well as our internet networks, although those are both controlled solely by private firms. I think in the long-term there needs to be some control to how much deficit is
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.
Of this total, around $500 billion comprises the base budget which “includes funding for the procurement of military equipment and the daily operations costs of U.S. bases” (Gould & Bender, 2015). Basically, home defense measures amount to over eighty-percent of the nation’s defense budget. With these astronomical figures, one may question whether or not these types of expenditures are excessive when considering the infrequency of attacks on U.S. soil. To further break down this nearly $500 billion base budget, roughly $200 billion is allotted for operations/maintenance, $135 billion for military personnel, $90 billion for procurement, and $65 billion for research/development (Gould & Bender, 2015). In a world where people rush to purchase lottery tickets at the hopes of hitting a jackpot worth a few million, these expenditures are incomprehensible and may seem excessive; however, not everyone feels this way. In an article found on the U.S. Department of Defense’s website, the “DoD has done its best to manage through this prolonged period of budget uncertainty, the secretary said, making painful choices and tradeoffs” and that in “today’s security environment we need to be dynamic and we need to be responsive. What we have now is a straitjacket” (Pellerin, 2015). At the end of the day, it is all about who is being asked whether the defense
In the thirty-eight years of the United States Naval Submarine Service no United States submarine had ever sunk an enemy vessel. With the ignition of the Second World War the poorly equipped and poorly trained Silent Service, nicknamed for the limited access of the media to the actions and achievements of the submarines, would be thrust into the position American submariners had longed for. The attack on Pearl Harbor left the United States Navy with few options for retribution. The three remaining aircraft carriers were to be “the last line of defense.” Commander Stuart S. Murray made the precarious situation clear to his skippers, captains, upon sending them on their first war patrol. He stressed the importance of smart sailing by warning them not “to go out there and win the Congressional Medal of Honor in one day. The submarines are all we have left.” We entered the war with 55 submarines, 27 at Pearl Harbor and 28 at Cavite in the Philippines. At first our submarine strategies lacked ingenuity and failed to use our subs to their full potential. United States subs were assigned to reconnaissance, transporting supplies, and lifeguard duty, picking up downed airmen and sailors. They were even, on occasion, sent to rescue high profile Americans on the run from the enemy or from islands under enemy siege. Although their ability was, unfortunately, wasted in our entrance to the Pacific Theater the Silent Service would soon gain the recognition its men yearned for.
(Kidwell, 2005) The government typically hires private security contractors to provide services that formally belonged to military forces such as the protection of high profile dignitaries and the guarding of military installations overseas. The proliferation of private military companies jumped significantly after the events of 9/11. The Bush Administration enacted a three-phase plan to increase the number of private contractors hired. The first phase in the hiring process was to try to release the military to fight the war on terrorism; the second phase was to allow commanders to focus their efforts on winning the war by outsourcing supplementary functions; third, it would support the President’s Management Agenda.
There has always been a differential between civilian income and military and this has only just happened in the past six years. (Army Magazine) This has allowed those who have joined the military to have that pay increase since they are giving more or less their own lives to protect their country. This allows them to realize that they are on a different level than most and gives them the responsibility of that. It is with the military though that the government can increase the economy even providing jobs. (Military Spending Can Grow the Nation’s Economy) This even allows civilians to find jobs in the military and contract out. So the military has also given back to the civilian
“The War in Iraq Costs”. Cost of War. April, 2003. National Priorities Project. 14 April