The Real “Ever-Expanding” Threat to Fiscal Sanity
Michelle Marinaro /
Congressman Barney Frank met with reporters recently to further voice support for the $700 Billion TARP allocation while concurrently hinting at the need for defense cuts. In his statement, the Congressman said, “The biggest ongoing threat, I believe, to fiscal sanity in this country is an open-ended ever-expanding military budget.” These remarks are not a huge surprise considering recent rhetoric from our government and military leaders.
Within the last month, Secretary of Defense Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen, and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Carl Levin have all signaled that cuts are likely to occur. President Obama has suggested that these cuts may be as high as 10 percent.
However, Congressman Frank may be in need of a history lesson if he truly believes that our military budget is simply “open-ended” and “ever-expanding.” Not only is America’s military spending under complete control, it has dropped significantly as a percentage of GDP in the last 60 years. Experts at The Heritage Foundation fear that military spending has fallen too much in recent years, and the strain now placed on our military become dangerous. (more…)
