ran 5.8 miles
Today marks 800 miles and the end of nine months of running against Obama.
I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend and thank you, military men and women, veterans, and those soldiers who we mourn, for the brave and noble sacrifices you have made for America.
Watching Memorial Day specials on television today I noticed a recurring theme through the many different testimonials that were given by active and veteran military men and women. That theme was one that underlined the fact that many of our physically wounded and emotionally devastated soldiers lack many of the resources they need once they return home. It seems that our soldiers’ wellbeing and their futures should be a top priority compared to many other things that seem to claim priority over them.
For example, wasteful earmarks, which have only recently been fully exposed and limited for the wasteful and abusive spending they are, serve very little purpose other than as an obstacle to more important and needy uses for tax dollars, such as the healthy and dignified futures of our veterans and their families. Our federal government spends our tax dollars on many questionable things, and these many curious things have no rhyme or reason of importance.
While our active military and veterans are often compromised after having served their country, it is insulting when you look at how many of our tax dollars go to other nations, countries that wish harm upon us and are perhaps considered our enemies. It is insulting how much we spend for illegal aliens in hospitals and how certain states are beginning to start programs that pay for the college educations of illegal aliens, while legal citizens have to work twice as hard to succeed, and veteran causes and programs take second place to helping illegal aliens adjust to the traumatic transition of being lucky enough to become an American. It is so backwards! Welfare recipients who stay fused to the teat of the government, food stamps, unemployment benefits…these are all valid, necessary and important programs that America no doubt needs, but the system is taken advantage of to such a degree it is simply insulting to needy veterans, whatever their needs, when they cannot be helped but so many millions of others, who contribute so little to society, are so well taken care of. There are a lot of undeserved tax dollars being delegated to more mouths than we can feed, yet our military men and women work the hardest for what amounts to so little when you begin to compare what is really important.
There are better answers out there but none of them can be looked at until we lock elbow to elbow and pull our economy up from the cliff’s edge it is desperately hanging onto.
1,276.8 miles to go.
I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend and thank you, military men and women, veterans, and those soldiers who we mourn, for the brave and noble sacrifices you have made for America.
Watching Memorial Day specials on television today I noticed a recurring theme through the many different testimonials that were given by active and veteran military men and women. That theme was one that underlined the fact that many of our physically wounded and emotionally devastated soldiers lack many of the resources they need once they return home. It seems that our soldiers’ wellbeing and their futures should be a top priority compared to many other things that seem to claim priority over them.
For example, wasteful earmarks, which have only recently been fully exposed and limited for the wasteful and abusive spending they are, serve very little purpose other than as an obstacle to more important and needy uses for tax dollars, such as the healthy and dignified futures of our veterans and their families. Our federal government spends our tax dollars on many questionable things, and these many curious things have no rhyme or reason of importance.
While our active military and veterans are often compromised after having served their country, it is insulting when you look at how many of our tax dollars go to other nations, countries that wish harm upon us and are perhaps considered our enemies. It is insulting how much we spend for illegal aliens in hospitals and how certain states are beginning to start programs that pay for the college educations of illegal aliens, while legal citizens have to work twice as hard to succeed, and veteran causes and programs take second place to helping illegal aliens adjust to the traumatic transition of being lucky enough to become an American. It is so backwards! Welfare recipients who stay fused to the teat of the government, food stamps, unemployment benefits…these are all valid, necessary and important programs that America no doubt needs, but the system is taken advantage of to such a degree it is simply insulting to needy veterans, whatever their needs, when they cannot be helped but so many millions of others, who contribute so little to society, are so well taken care of. There are a lot of undeserved tax dollars being delegated to more mouths than we can feed, yet our military men and women work the hardest for what amounts to so little when you begin to compare what is really important.
There are better answers out there but none of them can be looked at until we lock elbow to elbow and pull our economy up from the cliff’s edge it is desperately hanging onto.
1,276.8 miles to go.
$663.7 Billion dollars have been budgeted to the department of defense in 2010. $52.5 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Is it fair to address wasteful spending in social programs without addressing wasteful military spending?
ReplyDeleteJ
$695 billion (+4.9%) – Social Security
$571 billion (+58.6%) – Other mandatory
$453 billion (+6.6%) – Medicare
$290 billion (+12.0%) – Medicaid
$164 billion (+18.0%) – Interest on National Debt
$663.7 billion (+12.7%) – Department of Defense
$78.7 billion (−1.7%) – Department of Health and Human Services
$72.5 billion (+2.8%) – Department of Transportation
$52.5 billion (+10.3%) – Department of Veterans Affairs
$51.7 billion (+40.9%) – Department of State and Other International Programs
$47.5 billion (+18.5%) – Department of Housing and Urban Development
$46.7 billion (+12.8%) – Department of Education
$42.7 billion (+1.2%) – Department of Homeland Security
$26.3 billion (−0.4%) – Department of Energy
$26.0 billion (+8.8%) – Department of Agriculture
$23.9 billion (−6.3%) – Department of Justice
$18.7 billion (+5.1%) – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$13.8 billion (+48.4%) – Department of Commerce
$13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of Labor
$13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of the Treasury
$12.0 billion (+6.2%) – Department of the Interior
$10.5 billion (+34.6%) – Environmental Protection Agency
$9.7 billion (+10.2%) – Social Security Administration
$7.0 billion (+1.4%) – National Science Foundation
$5.1 billion (−3.8%) – Corps of Engineers
$5.0 billion (+100%-NA) – National Infrastructure Bank
$1.1 billion (+22.2%) – Corporation for National and Community Service
$0.7 billion (0.0%) – Small Business Administration
$0.6 billion (−14.3%) – General Services Administration
$0 billion (−100%-NA) – Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
$0 billion (−100%-NA) – Financial stabilization efforts
$11 billion (+275%-NA) – Potential disaster costs
$19.8 billion (+3.7%) – Other Agencies
$105 billion – Other
That's a lot of numbers. I see now that I did not complain about nearly as many facets of expenditures as I should have. Wasteful spending is all over the place like unavoidable particles of dust in the air we breathe. The few facets of spending I hit on were ones that immediately and constantly irk me. Regarding fairness of wasteful spending in social programs versus wasteful military spending, I've never been in the military, I know very little about war and I am not educated enough in the ways of war and what it takes to maintain the best interests of this nation through military force; however, I do know a thing or two about society and every day America, as I participate in it everyday, and I have no qualms in pointing out the level of disappointment that lies in the reality that some people who lazily abuse the system have a vote that is equal to others who contribute so much more to society and America than they do.
ReplyDelete