Richard Warnick of OneUtah.org has taken the issue of the Iraq Occupation budget to explore the bigger issue of defense spending. Its a very concise post and a shrewd point.
It reminds me of how frustrated I get when conservatives, the majority of whom tend to be “hawks” and zealous advocates of national security, talk about the virtues of small government. How is it that they fail to understand that defence and national security are among the greatest sources of spending and bureaucracy in the federal government? If they feel it is justified, fine; but don’t make a pretense of supporting small government when you don’t.
A Liberal Mormon 
May 11, 2007 at 2:46 pm |
It is amazing to me the pandering going on by some in our party in this election season. They need to be seen as ‘tough on terror’ and for a strong defense. Too many have backed off, courting NRA favor, and restrictions of high powered handguns such as the Glock used at VA Tech. It is time we turn our Glocks into trikes for kids. As Spencer Kimball observed in 1976, “When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel — ships, planes, missiles, fortifications — and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot…” A sad commentary for what we have become. Karl Rove and others in the R party have played upon our fears and we have many in our culture. It is a disgrace that KSL continues making money from Hannity playing to those fears, prejudices and ‘antienemy’ sentiments in our Utah Red culture.
May 11, 2007 at 6:52 pm |
I’m a conservative and I favor smaller government, so I’m purportedly the person you are angry at. But I don’t favor wasteful military spending. (Who does?) I think there is a lot of pork in there, which is sort of the point people like me want to make. When the government does a job, pork follows. It is inevitable.
I think there is a law that the proportion of wasteful/needful spending goes up as the dollar amounts being spent rise. If you’re throwing around billions of dollars, what’s a few million here and there for some pork?
I favor decentralized government because I believe that state and local governments are more accountable and because it is harder to hide waste in smaller budgets.
There are some tasks that must be done by the national government, such as defense. Supporting the essential features of a national government doesn’t imply that you want bigger government overall.
May 14, 2007 at 9:59 am |
Bradley, I am concerned that there are disadvantages which can be exploited by powerful private interests under conventional “free” market theory. But I agree that there are also many benefits of smaller, decentralized government. It is not the theory of decentralized government I am protesting.
My frustration is with the complete breakdown of logic (or the disingenuousness) of the conservative pundits I’ve heard or spoken with. They like to claim that they advocate “small” government. They claim that liberals like “big” government, and blame supposedly liberal projects (EPA, FDA, DofE, etc) for the growth of big government. But those same advocates promote a strong national defense with a first-rate military. The bottom line is that a “strong national defense” in the modern world requires enormous funds, manpower,–and yes, bureaucracy. It necessitates “big” government. Even if all the “liberal” programs were cut, a government with a strong national defense would STILL be a “big” government. It is as simple as that.
These sorts of Conservative proponents (and I don’t know you, so I don’t know if you are one of them) need to stop lying to themselves and the rest of us. Their government is just as big as that of we liberals; they just put the money and resources in different areas.
George, you’re right on. “Red Scare” has come to mean something entirely different in our modern society, hasn’t it? And yes, I’m absolutely disgusted with the way that so many among the supposedly liberal Democratic Party will play right into the conservative agenda by playing the fear game by the Republican rules, rather than standing up for their own principles.
May 31, 2007 at 8:43 am |
A friend of mine sent this quote along – not sure who said it but another friend thought it was Martin Luther King JR.
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift, is approaching spiritual death.”
I agree and I think our country is in grave jeopardy on this matter. Money allocation illustrates morality, IMO.