I was quite disappointed by your speech recently regarding the out-of-control government spending levels and our skyrocketing national debt. In what should have been a call for unity and action across all Americans, you took the opportunity to make some crass political points. You belittled Republicans in the audience, that your staff invited, in an ambush attack that was loathsome, mean-spirited and based on no sense of reality.
Rather than debating issues and providing an alternative to their detailed plans, you came up way short, acting only like a politician. Your speech did not nothing to improve the country's financial situation.
However, the worst part of your speech was your statement that American kids with autism and Down Syndrome would suffer tremendously if the Republican plan was adopted. This is the lowest of the low, using disadvantaged Americans as props for your political gain. You provided no proof that the Republican spending cuts would affect these kids so directly and if this statement is in fact true, you provided no budget alternatives that would reduce the budget in other areas while protecting these kids. Despicable behavior in my view.
And behavior that is not true. If protecting kids with autism and Down Syndrome is so important to you, I suggest you consider the following spending cuts that will have absolutely no impact on these kids, or most ordinary Americans:
1) Your sparse budget reduction ideas in your speech said that you would reduce the Pentagon budget by $400 billion over twelve years (why you went to twelve years is a mystery to me when everything else you have talked about is in ten year increments). This comes out to about $33 billion a year or about 5% of the overall Pentagon budget. Such a low level is unacceptable, especially when you consider the following, approximate foreign U.S. troop deployment:
Iraq: 50,000
Germany: 54,000
South Korea: 30,000
Japan: 30,000
Total: 164,000
Your administration has stated that it costs a million dollars a year per soldier to deploy one soldier to a combat zone. Since the above 164,000 troops are not in a combat zone, let's assume it costs half of that $1 million to deploy them overseas in a non-combat zone.
Thus, if agree that we do not need 54,000 troops in Germany to protect western Europe any more, if we agree that we do not need to support South Korea's defense any more since they have one of the strongest economies in the world along with mandatory armed forces service, if we agree that Japan is unlikely to attack us anytime soon, and you finally fulfill your campaign promise to withdrawal ALL U.S. troops from Iraq, then the Federal government and the Pentagon could save $82 billion a year or $984 billion over twelve years. Just these four troop movements would more than double your feeble Pentagon reduction plan of $400 billion, without harming our national defense, and not one kid with autism or Down Syndrome would be affected.
2) But wait, there are more Pentagon savings to be had. Consider a recent in-depth analysis by the U.S. Public Interest Group and the National Taxpayer Union, two organizations somewhat removed from each other on the political spectrum but united in the knowledge that our government spending is out of control. They did an extensive analysis of the Federal budget and came up with even more Pentagon savings:
- Cancel the production of the V-22 Osprey aircraft that is over budget, likely to under perform, and has been designated as not critical by the Sustainable Defense Task Force. Cutting this program, according to their analysis, would save $6.2 billion over the next five years.
- Cancel the production of the F-35 jet fighter which, according to the Sustainable Defense Task Force, "may represent all that is wrong with our acquisition process." It "would provide a capability that is not warranted considering emerging threats." Cutting this other unnecessary weapons program would save $22.5 billion over the next five years.
- Cancel the Space Tracking and Surveillance System which can be replaced with lower cost and more reliable options. This would save the Pentagon $5 billion over the next five years.
- Cancel the outdated, unreliable, and unneeded Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. The General Accountability Office cited the program's history of cost growth, schedule misses (14 years late), and performance failures as reasons for terminating the program. Defense Secretary Gates also chimed in by acknowledging that the vehicle was no longer a big need. Canceling this program would save $16.3 billion over the next five years.
These four simple moves would save the country $50 billion over the next five years and no kid with autism or Down Syndrome would be affected.
- Cancelling weapons systems and bringing troops home from non-critical areas is only the start. The General Accountability Office found that the Army, Navy and Air Force are wasting billions of dollars a year by purchasing items that were either never used or were never required. The GAO identified purchasing reform processes that could save $36.9 billion a year or about $443 billion over twelve years.
national defense. And best of all, no kid with autism and Down Syndrome would be affected.
3) However, the analysis by the U.S. Public Interest Group and the National Taxpayer Union did not stop with defense spending:
- The findings recommended that many forms of corporate welfare be terminated and the costs be picked up by the corporations that were getting the welfare payments courtesy of American taxpayers. These programs include the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Market Access Program, trade association subsidies for foreign marketing, subsidies to large agriculture business and wealthy farmers, tax credits for the blending of ethanol, the ultra-deepwater natural gas and petroleum research program, public timber sales subsidies, and Southeastern Power Administration. Just ending these corporate welfare programs would save about $12 billion a year or about $146 billion over twelve years.
- The Federal government owns more than 55,500 buildings that are either not used or are underused. The analysis suggests that if 50% of these buildings were eliminated over the next five years, not an unrealistic target, savings in the area of $48 billion would be realized.
- According to government audits of Housing and Urban development, the Federal government wastes about $4.5 billion a year due to bad accounting and billing processes. Fix this problem and save about $54 billion over twelve years.
Thus, just these three non-defense changes would save us $248 billion over twelve years. Best news of all? You guessed it, no kid with autism or Down Syndrome would be affected.
4) Conservatively, annual earmarks, which are usually nothing more than thinly disguised ways for incumbent politicians to fund their re-election campaign with taxpayer money, cost the Federal government about $16 billion a year in unneeded expenses. Eliminating earmarks would save $192 billion over twelve years.
5) A March 1, 2011 Wall Street Journal article reporting on the following government insanity, as quantified by the General Accountability Office:
- The Federal government has 15 different agencies overseeing food safety laws.
- It has more than 20 programs helping the homeless.
- It has 80 programs to help economic development.
- It has 82 agencies working on improving teacher quality, few of which are working if you see how poorly American kids are being educated vs. the rest of the world.
- It has 47 agencies working on job training.
- It has 18 programs working on food and nutrition assistance.
6) An Associated Press article and analysis last year reported that the Federal government admitted it loses anywhere from $60 to $90 billion a year in fraud and incompetency in its Medicare type programs. If we were to take the midrange of this range, $75 billion, and cut the amount of fraud and waste in half to $37.5 billion, we would recoup $450 billion over twelve years without affecting any kid with autism or Down Syndrome.
I could go on and on, Mr. President, but I hope you get the idea. These are just a sampling of ideas that smart Americans are coming up with to get spending under control. Just this small handful of ideas would save the country $5.2 TRILLION over your twelve year window.
This does not even get into some of the more drastic recommendations like eliminating the Department of Education and the Department of Energy, two Federal functions that have failed miserably over their decades of existence. They need to be put out to pasture and the billions of dollars of their budgets saved. "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" has other ideas for savings including going after the hundreds of billions of dollars lost every year through income tax fraud.
The ideas are out there to save big without sacrificing kids with autism and Down Syndrome and sacrificing national defense, while making government services more efficient and effective for less money. You just need to start working like a President and stop politicking like a typical Chicago politician. Your vindictive speech was not becoming of the office you hold, as was using the kids as props to further your political aims and not the addressing the needs of the nation.
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