Current US military spending (not counting many defense related expenses that go into other categories, such as Security contractors) is 39% of the GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING.
If you reduce that to 25% of the global total, I would still be curious who would consider attacking the US or its interests. Those 14% you just saved, can be converted into Tax cuts, or into a reduction of the national debt (so people can afford better healthcare by having access to more cash), or infrastructure projects (that would generate jobs, so people could help themselves and not need the government to aid them).
There Military spending cuts that use Free Market Solutions for balancing the budget, and possibly improving the age old falling apart infrastructure of the US, while raising the access to healthcare and improving quality of life.
The current levels of US military spending aren't sustainable and are spiraling out of control. It needs to stop, before the damage becomes a cancer. The "War on Terror", the "War on Drugs", the NSA surveillance of the entire fucking planet these are monstrosities. They are fictitious and overblown "Cold Wars", created for political and financial gain. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I would like to meet a Defense Contractor who thinks he sold enough Space Lazors, and maybe he should stop making more of them, or a Politician who won't tell you that without him, the scary monster communists/islamists/mexican cartels won't kill you in your sleep. You must be afraid and vote for him for protection, so then he can go and pour taxpayer money on his campaign sponsor, who happens to be the defense contractor.
The US has this weird indoctrination that military service carries with it omg so much pride honor and we should always respect our vets for their sacrifice and this country would be so much better with more service members.
Meanwhile other government employees are shat upon, insulted, disrespected, etc. for taking care of us here at home.
It's as if sitting in a military base overseas playing WoW (pretty much what half the people I know who are in the military do) is valued much higher than domestic care.
Most of our out of control military budget is congress throwing money at contractors (Lockheed etc) to make more equipment we simply don't need, so if we could cut that away that would be great for our budget. But not only that, we have a ton of things that just need doing back home that we "Don't have funding for" because taking care of our own goddamn country isn't as important as acting intimidating overseas.
We'd do a lot better to fund some more domestic government jobs over the excessively large military. Infrastructure repair, research and development, commerce, etc.
2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"
You get rid of the 'for-profit' hospitals along witht he free market insurance companies that cut benefits when you reach lifetime caps or deny you when you have a pre-existing condition and I guarantee the prices of most of the bullshit goes down dramatically. Just look at other countries.
2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"
It's not "additional costs," they're just jacking up their margins on everything they do. The lack of regulation as a result of a free market is what lets them continue doing so. In addition to the hospitals and insurance companies practically being in bed with one another, or often the same entity to begin with. Then they fund it by raising premiums on their customers. People pay it because they have no choice, without it their care would be even more expensive. It's practically racketeering.
2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"
Have lots of family and friends in the military. Depending on their job, where they're stationed, and what they're doing they do either a little or a lot. I know many active duty service members that their job is to basically sit and monitor equipment so they have a laptop on the side to farm ore and herbs with.
Although I suppose because your job might not be so laid back, you feel it necessary to correct my egregious error that not ALL service members have it so easy, which I can't really seem to find where I said that.
2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"
Among many other things, I know military gets extremely nice insurance provided at no additional cost. Must be nice to speculate about how switching off an insurance model would, in your opinion, break the bank. You know, despite it working wonders for most countries that use it.
2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"
Which is a good point and probably why this argument will never be resolved. Public healthcare in the US is going to cost an arm and a leg, because it's too damn late. Without dismantling the whole system as it stands and costing jobs and billions of dollars to private owners, it'll have to be brought in at a similar if not equal level. It's just another case of it being 50 years too late. It worked in Canada because we were small, it worked in the UK because most of it was bombed to shit by the Germans. Doesn't mean it's still not a good thing to do.
At the same time though, how many more mansions and italian sports cars do these pharma and insurance CEO's need.
I feel like I've done enough damage in this thread. But I'm kind of reckless... so, yes, cut half the military budget (throw in all of medicare too, if you want), and go single payer. Every US citizen has healthcare. There. Fueling the fire.
Hospital equipment should not cost millions of dollars for 1 purpose like monitoring how much saliva you have left and thats it if you know what i mean.