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Originally Posted by Robbie [L]et's bring home all the troops and the deployments throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Cut that military budget down to the bone. THEN we'd have plenty of money to hire more teachers and govt. employees and pay for everyone in the country to go to the doctor and give every homeless person a new house and any other do-gooder, bleeding heart, wealth re-distribution scheme that Democrats can think of. I'd rather watch our govt. go bankrupt and fucking over hard working folks in that manner than to spend it on killing people worldwide and making the military industrial complex filthy rich. 10.6 billion dollars every day in federal spending. And borrowing 4 billion of that every day. Just outrageous.

With the exception of the Carter Administration there hasn't been any serious cutback in military spending.

With the rise of the EU and its not so unified defense force there should be some leeway for military spending cuts in Europe. As troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan (this remains to be seen... ) the US Military can be put back to a less aggressive and more defensive posturing. The real problem is the cost of the weapons of "new technology." Maybe, the debate should be are some of these really needed?

I don't know what ever happened to the Obama Administration's high speed rail initiative. Good track and high speed trains like in Western Europe and Japan would make 200 - 500 mile trips faster by train than by air when you include the check in times and the "security screening" delays. This would be a constructive use of government funding to build new infrastructure rather than fund new wars and further or increase entitlement spending.

So, did Obama drop the high speed train initiative or is the House blocking the spending for it?

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[T]he U.S. High Speed Rail Association has estimated the price tag at $600 billion over the next 20 years, a cost that critics say the nation cannot afford. ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2011020806998

How many trillions of dollars will our military spending be for the next 20 years?

There is some comprise to be made in all of this -- will we be better off in the next 20 years?

But dealing in absolutes will get us nowhere.