This comes from a little too leftist perspective for my taste. His suggestions about better uses of capital than building weapons differs from mine. Still, his point about the military industrial complex is accurate.
It's not funded from taxes. It's funded through debasement. Stop using their money, defund the machine.
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Good point, and an excellent segue into explaining the importance of bitcoin.
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The biggest issue is all the lobbying groups that Northrop, Raytheon, Lockheed and others support own our politicians. There will be no change unless the PACs supported by these evil companies go away.
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I really like some of the charts and graphics linked from the article. It's good stuff, even if it assumes the alternative is to spend more on other programs. Reducing military spending and the MIC is still a good goal.
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Exactly. Triage. Let's stop the bleeding, and worry about where to direct resources later.
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We still need national security and protect our borders but let’s stop aid to Ukraine and Israel
Purge the CIA and the intelligence agencies and build from ground zero
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That would be great. Probably easier said than done, though. You would have to take on the most powerful forces in the world.
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Especially the Israel lobby which includes the fanatic Christian Zionists
What happened to the Brits, not to mention all the collateral damage, should be a sign that getting involved in this region is toxic. If the Levantine peoples want to fight, let ‘em do it by themselves.
Besides AIPAC, the main reason the West, especially the Anglosphere, is so interested in supporting Israel is Christian Zionism, a weird heresy based on some unorthodox interpretation of the Bible. Just goes to show how fringe ideas can cause genuine suffering.
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I remember seeing a video where someone said some bolts were thousands or millions of dollars for the airforce.
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Military investment is fundamental, but I think it's currently a tremendous exaggeration.
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Zerohedge is not leftist, it's just anti-west. It doesn't even have a stance in anything except anti-west even when it looks like it's making an argument for pro Republican.
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This is one of those cases where Zero Hedge is aggregating posts originally published elsewhere. I was referring to the author, not Zero Hedge.
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Yeah but the aggregation is like those NYT opinion pieces by guest writers. Barely useful unless you are in that circle
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You can look at it that way, or you can say they are highlighting diverse opinions. Lately I've noticed articles with a distinct environmentalist, climate change bent coming out of Zero Hedge, which I find very strange. I don't read the Times much, but their ideology seems much more monolithic to me.
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I see them as another NYT, or Chinese state paper.
Zerohedge is just the same but anti west position in everything essentially, not your traditional left vs right.
Military is what sustain and protect the alliance, it's part of the foundation of the progress, not other way around.
Either they are more naive than leftists, or they are doing it intentionally. I am more inclined to believe it's the latter
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With jobs in every Congressional district, the attack has to be on the money. When Ike warned of the MIC, he didn't think he'd need to worry about banks and the dollar.
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Eisenhower warned us in his farewell address
When was his farewell address?
Anyone older than 40 cannot answer because they already know including @siggy47
Social Security and Medicare is still our highest expense including military and spies
1.5 trillion is a substantial amount but Biden latest budget proposal is 8 trillion
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some of those that run forces....are the same that burn crosses.
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Burning crosses is bad ?
What about burning police stations?
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pretty much
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Summary:
The military-industrial complex (MIC) is a powerful force that wields immense influence over the US government and economy, perpetuating a cycle of endless wars and profiteering for the arms industry at the expense of human lives, the environment, and societal well-being. Here are the key points:
The MIC comprises the military establishment, arms manufacturers, and Congress, forming an "iron triangle" that drives militarism and funnels vast resources into the weapons industry.[2][4] It has enabled the rise of a permanent, massive armaments industry that consumes over half the federal discretionary budget, dwarfing spending on crucial domestic needs like education, health, and renewable energy.[5]
The top five arms companies - Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing, and General Dynamics - have profited immensely from the post-9/11 wars, which have killed an estimated 4.5 million people and displaced 38 million more.[3] The MIC has a vested interest in fueling conflicts globally to justify ever-increasing military budgets.[1][3]
The environmental toll of the MIC is staggering, contributing significantly to climate change through the military's massive carbon footprint and poisoning ecosystems.[3] Its insatiable demand for resources diverts funding from addressing existential threats like pandemics and climate change.[5]
To dismantle the MIC's stranglehold, comprehensive reforms are needed, including campaign finance reform, curbing the revolving door between the arms industry and government, promoting public awareness, and prioritizing investments in green technology and public health over endless militarism.[3][5] [1][2][3][4][5]
Sources [1] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/military-industrial-complex-killing-us-all [2] Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/eisenhower001.asp [3] The Military-Industrial Complex Is Killing Us All - CounterPunch.org https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/04/the-military-industrial-complex-is-killing-us-all/ [4] Military–industrial complex - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex [5] The Military-Industrial Complex Has Never Been Worse - Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2023/05/military-industrial-complex-pentagon-budget-weapons-manufacturing-influence-revolving-door [6] America's Military-Industrial Complex Is Ruining the World - Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2022/02/us-pentagon-budget-military-spending-f-35-nuclear-weapons
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