According to multiple reports, President Barack Obama will announce a “spending freeze” in his State of the Union tomorrow night. While we definitely have our doubts about the efficacy and reality of these proposed cuts, what there is no doubt about is that President Obama’s past Defense budget was entirely inadequate to protect our nation. The Congressional Budget Office correctly notes that total inflation adjusted Defense spending “exceeds the peak of about $500 billion (in 2010 dollars) during the height of the Reagan Administration’s military buildup in the mid-1980s.” However, …
As we celebrated our nation’s birthday, North Korea launched seven missiles, and is now preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile, just months after testing a nuclear weapon. At the same time, Iran is developing both nuclear capabilities and long range missiles, recently disguised as a “space” launch. Meanwhile in Washington, Democrats in the White House and in Congress are dramatically cutting funds from our national missile defense system. In what world does it make sense to dramatically cut funding for the only system capable of defending our nation against …
If President Obama is intent on listening to military commanders, as he promised during the campaign, why is he now ignoring the military’s own requirement for additional F-22s? Why would the President want to compromise America’s half-century dominance in the air that has led to one powerful result: There has not been a single soldier or Marine who lost his life in combat due to a threat from the air in over 56 years. As legacy aircraft retire at ever-increasing rates, however, maintaining that superiority is not guaranteed. Sufficient numbers …
Media Matters attacked Sean Hannity yesterday for “falsely” claiming the Obama administration is cutting the military budget and “misleadingly” clipping Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Contra, Media Matters, Hannity is correct on both counts. Cutting the Defense Budget: Media Matters notes that the current FY 2009 Pentagon budget is slightly over $513 billion and that Obama’s proposed FY 2010 budget is almost $534 billion. This makes it seem like a defense budget increase, but this isn’t an accurate comparison to make. President Bush’s FY 2009 budget projected allocating $549.8 billion in …
Employment took another hit in march, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with job losses climbing another 0.4 of a percentage point to 8.5 percent, the highest level since 1983. What should we do? Heritage scholars James Sherk and J.D. Foster have an idea: These discouraging numbers underscore that Congress should not embark on an anti-growth taxing and spending frenzy. Unfortunately President Obama’s budget currently before Congress would do just that, increasing spending by more than $1,000,000,000,000–one trillion dollars–over the next decade. This is precisely the wrong time to …
Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave one of the most sweeping speeches of the Post-Cold War era on American national security. Building off themes established in the 2008 National Defense Strategy written under President Bush, Secretary Gates presented what he described as “a budget crafted to reshape the priorities of America’s defense establishment. … a holistic assessment of capabilities, requirements, risks, and needs for the purpose of shifting this department in a different strategic direction.” The key assumption running through the Gates/Bush 2008 National Defense Strategy, is that “Although …
Powerful Ambitions North Korean Dreams: The development of the ballistic missile program has been one of the top military priorities for North Korea for almost 40 years. As a result it now has the largest ballistic missile program among all developing countries. Not only does North Korea constantly seek to advance their own ballistic missile capabilities, but it also shares ballistic missile technology with other nations such as Iran. But Will Their Missiles Reach the U.S? The April 4 so-called “satellite launch” demonstrated North Korea’s latest Taepo Dong-2 advancements. According …
Major 2010 defense budget cuts expected to be announced by Secretary Gates today are part of a broader theme laid out in last year’s National Defense Strategy and his Foreign Affairs article seeking more “balance” in the military’s equipment portfolio away from high-end systems to fight conventional wars and more toward counterinsurgency capabilities. In the Post-Cold War world, however, the United States has chosen through numerous defense strategies to embrace a global vision of the world consistent with broad interpretations of its national interests and international priorities. In short, America …
The President’s Budget The Actual Cost: The $634 billion in the President’s budget is only a “down payment” on health care reform. Experts believe that the actual cost of Obama’s health care plan could reach $1.6 trillion over 10 years. This is in addition to the trillions of dollars Obama has already spent on health care this year through the stimulus and SCHIP. Details, Please: On such an important piece of the President’s budget and agenda, there is little detail on what the Administration expects to spend with the $634 …
There are now two ten-year budget plans being offered in Washington. One budget dumps a staggering $9.6 trillion in new debt onto the American people; the other borrows $3.6 trillion less. One budget creates $63,000 in debt per household; the other creates $23,000 less. One budget raises taxes by $1.4 trillion; the other avoids all tax increases and even simplifies the tax code. One budget does nothing to address the unsustainable costs of Social Security and Medicaid; the other begins to reform these programs. One budget permanently raises federal spending …
