Misblog

Originally Published February 01, 2010; Last Updated February 03, 2010; Last Republished February 01, 2010:

If our president expects to be taken seriously on deficit reduction and he'll want to trim about $200 billion from the obscene $708¹ billion dollar defense budget for fiscal year 2011.

It's becoming more than a little nettlesome listening to our politicians opportunistically vie for first place terrorist toughie.

With all due respect to our capable Secretary of Defense few will even remember or recall the Afghanistan or Iraq debacles from the stream of history.

There's nothing left to accomplish from either skirmish but pulling the plug and bring our troops home.

Res: White House, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011

Web:

• UPDATED 02/03/2010 UPI, Obama to Democrats: 'Finish the job'

  "We've got to finish the job" on healthcare and financial regulatory reform, reducing the deficit and other tough issues,...We've got to finish the job even though it's hard.

  We may just have a leader in our White House—go Mr. President.

  Put the cots, catering service, and senate physician on standby, there maybe a couple "real filibusters”!

• UPDATED 02/03/2010 ProPublica, Explaining Obama’s Proposed ‘Budget Freeze’

  Here's a graph from 2008 that will give you an idea of the percentage of spending (outlays) for the different categories:

  

• UPDATED 02/02/2010 Reuters, Obama seeks record $708¹ billion in 2011 defense budget²

-----notes-----

1. If you add the $33 billion increase to FY2010 requested in FY2011 the total is even more obscene pornographic at $741 billion.

It's worth noting that ending the Afghanistan and Iraq debacles gets you almost all the $200 billion reduction ($197 billion). Then we can begin serious discussions about what major weapons systems need to be delayed, trimmed, or totally eliminated.

The secretary of defense has begun the heavy lifting but it will be a long and contentious road to rein in the these budgets—guarantee when we begin making serious cuts "enemies and threats" will pop-up from across the globe and heavens.

2. The president appears willing to confront the posturing, opportunism, rhetoric, gamesmanship, and electioneering in an effort to stimulate open, transparent, and fact based debates over budgets, priorities, and our nation's future.

Unfortunately our system has become so imbalanced and distrust (not to mention disgust, disdain, and disrespect) of our leadership so great his efforts are unlikely to have much effect anytime soon...and that may be too late.

He deserves great credit for remaining optimistic and continuing to try.