Does the US really need to spend $800bn on its military? — RT World News

President Biden is predicted to ask Congress for a record-shattering navy price range for the fiscal yr 2023 that may exceed $770 billion and will attain $800 billion, based on a Reuters report on Wednesday, which cited nameless sources.

Whereas the story has but to be confirmed, there are various causes to consider its veracity – and it raises critical questions in regards to the nation’s course. 

For starters, American navy contractors, who’re among the many most influential lobbyists in Congress and have a revolving door with the US authorities, anticipate this would be the case. Simply have a look at what some highly effective folks within the business have already stated publicly.

James Taiclet, CEO of Lockheed Martin, instructed buyers in a quarterly earnings name on January 25 that “there’s renewed nice energy competitors that does embrace nationwide protection and threats to it,” mentioning that his firm wants to have the ability to meet the demand for what he expects can be greater protection spending sooner or later.

Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes went a step additional on his earnings name the identical day. He stated that his firm is seeing “alternatives for worldwide gross sales” from conflicts all over the world, that means extra protection spending from each America and different nations. 

He defined, “We simply need to look to final week the place we noticed the drone assault within the UAE, which have attacked a few of their different amenities. And naturally, the tensions in Japanese Europe, the tensions within the South China Sea, all of these issues are placing stress on a few of the protection spending over there. So, I absolutely anticipate we’re going to see some profit from it.”

Do these guys know one thing we don’t? Nicely, the reply is sure, after all they do. The priorities talked about within the Reuters report for Biden’s spending request would immediately influence their firms – for instance, modernizing the nation’s ‘Nuclear Triad’, updating missile methods, and buying new fighter jets, comparable to Lockheed’s F-35. 

One other level value making about this probably improve in spending is that whereas Biden is predicted to ask for over $770 billion, the quantity that passes via Congress will most likely be a lot greater. Given this yr’s record-high inflation, it signifies that protection spending must improve considerably – to a minimum of over $850 billion – simply to maintain tempo. 

Congress has a confirmed report of giving administrations much more than they ask for with regards to protection, which is one thing that transcends the partisan divide. For instance, the price range request throughout Donald Trump’s ultimate yr in workplace was for $752.9 billion, however that was elevated by $25 billion to reach at a complete of $778 billion for the fiscal yr 2022. There may be each purpose to suppose this pattern will proceed.

Mockingly, round six months in the past Biden gave a speech promising a paradigm shift in American overseas coverage, an finish to “perpetually wars” and makes an attempt to “remake different nations” with the navy. Whereas there have been asterisks so as to add to this that had been apparent on the time, it now appears the US isn’t going to divert struggle assets to much-needed applications at residence, however as an alternative will direct them to new fronts within the perpetually struggle, as navy contractors have hinted. 

For instance, there are nonetheless hundreds of People dying from Covid-19 daily. If human life and wellbeing had been correctly valued, it could be a good suggestion for the federal government to place extra funding towards its healthcare system. Even pre-pandemic, there have been tens of hundreds of individuals dying yearly due to an absence of entry to fundamental well being care.

On the time of writing, America’s scholar debt disaster has reached a monumental total of $1,883,629,046,704. The US is a notoriously unaffordable place to hunt the next training and this debt is crippling younger folks, regardless that mortgage compensation has been paused via the pandemic. In actual fact, so inaccessible has training turn into that enrollment in schools and universities is plummeting – and the White Home has gone so far as to explain this downside as a looming nationwide safety menace.  

There additionally extra basic items to contemplate, such because the nation’s collapsing infrastructure. Positive, Biden handed a bipartisan, $1 trillion infrastructure invoice – however this doesn’t even come near addressing the US’ huge wants. Numerous this has to do with local weather change and modernizing or retrofitting current infrastructure, however the plan to deal with that’s stalled in Congress with no hope of being handed. The nation may use a Inexperienced New Deal to each adapt to the long run and construct new infrastructure, with Texas’ flimsy, unbiased energy grid offering a first-rate instance why.

It tells you numerous about America {that a} $770 billion-plus protection price range is being critically mentioned whereas the nation has all of those gaping wounds – and Biden’s legislative plan to place a band support on them, the Construct Again Higher invoice, is jammed in Congress. It’s much more galling that this desperately wanted funding is being diverted to the navy due to conditions that the US helped create within the first place. 

And when you may suppose this is unnecessary, the web outcome would be the age-old story of a wealth switch from taxpayers to navy contractors and their shareholders, the individuals who need assistance least – as is ever the case in America.