Saturday, September 29, 2007
Hypothetical
Imagine that you have a friend. This friend asks you to borrow money from you. You see that the family is in need their children are un-educated and they have little health care. Now imagine that this friend takes the money you gave them to improve themselves, and they buy a gun with it because they feel it is their responsibility to fight crime in the city according to their ideals. Wouldn't you be outraged? I would think that anyone would. So why is there not more public outcry opposing the egregious misspendings of the White House and congress? An NPR report earlier this year reported that President Bush was to include monatary requests upwards of a quarter TRILLION dollars over the next 20 months for the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7190893). I'm no fiscal genius but I would guess that our federal spending on education, healthcare, and our failing social security program is dwarfed by the spending in this war and national defense as a whole. It surprises me even more that this isn't evident across party lines. True, the right wing support for George Bush is faltering and the 2008 presidental hopefuls will barely claim to know him, but I find myself still finding people that support these irresponsible budget allocations because they are "conservative". I am all about protecting this country but sometimes I think that the best way to protect this country is to make sure that its children are educated its elderly are taken care of and its streets are safe.
You have a very good point. Our country may be the strongest militarily, but we are consistantly falling behind in many other areas, including education and health care.
ReplyDeleteEver since I was alive, this country has spent over 50% of our revenue on the military. The key to that is that someone is making a lot of money. If you want to know the truth about politics, "Follow the money."
Unfortunately, my fellow classmate, things are not going to get better until they get worse. I don't just blame our world leaders, I blame all of us. The bottom line to all of our mess is that we have no control over our greed, our ego, and our habits.
So if we want real change for the future, we must change the way we think and behave first. And it starts with us. We must stop pointing the finger and just start worrying about what we as individuals are doing. Be well, there is still hope!
>Ever since I was alive, this country has spent over 50% of our revenue on the military.
ReplyDeleteNot quite. 50% of the discretionary budget is military, but discretionary spending is only about 1/3 of the total budget. Military spending is only about 17% of the overall budget.
Even though I am not of age I am already doing what I can. By starting college early I can definately make a difference earlier. At this ripe age of 17 I am learning what I can about our Government and imparting my knowledge onto others so that everyone becomes more aware. I can't make any big changes but my generation will soon be in power. Bye Bye Baby Boomers. . .
ReplyDelete