The Gates Farewell Warning -- Wall Street JournalAmerica can be a superpower or a welfare state, but not both.
Robert Gates, who steps down next month after four-plus years at the Pentagon, is making his retirement lap a tutorial on America's defense spending and security needs. His message is welcome, especially on Memorial Day, and even if he couldn't always heed it in his time as Secretary of Defense.
In a series of farewell speeches, Mr. Gates has warned against cuts to weapon programs and troop levels that would make America vulnerable in "a complex and unpredictable security environment," as he said Sunday at Notre Dame. On Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute, Mr. Gates noted that the U.S. went on "a procurement holiday" in the 1990s, when the Clinton Administration decided to cash in the Cold War peace dividend. The past decade showed that history (and war) didn't end in 1989.
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My Comment: If history is any indication, politicians are more interested in buying votes with government monies rather than spending it on U.S. defense programs and operations. America cannot be a superpower AND a welfare state at the same time .... a balancing act that is right now failing as trillion dollar deficits become the norm rather than the exception for the U.S. Treasury. What is my prediction .... the trend is now towards a welfare state .... a goal that in itself will fail as those who contribute to such a system (through their tax dollars) will eventually rebel and refuse to contribute to a system that they will now perceive as unfair.
With all due respect to the writer of this blog, and to Mr Gates, allow me to take a different view:
ReplyDelete1. We are not now and have never been a welfare state if in using such a term to describe our nation the notion means to suggest what prevails in some nations in Europe.
2. We should remain strong and prepared, of course, but if we do little to change our health system, our education system and opportunities, our infrastructure etc., then we will be a weakened state with a strong military, a state where there will be an uneducated, unhealthy group of citizens.
3. We seem here to make a choice between doing things for our citizens in conjunction with the federal govt or having a strong military --and we must choose. What, for example, of the recent spate of hurricanes, tornadoes, levee failures and flooding and massive outbreaks of fires (Texas)--is the govt to stand back and let towns fend for themselves?
4. While Mr Gates takes a knock at Clinton for a procurement holiday, note that we did manage a balanced budget at the end of that president's term in office.
5. What we have then in an outreaching into the public sphere for further and continued support for our military and at the expense of all other things--something that even Gen Eisenhower warned us about when he left office.
Thank you Fred for your comment. I agree that the U.S. is not even close to the "welfare state" situation in Europe .... but the trend is in that direction. The American public prefers that monies be spent in America rather than funding wars and the military that will fight them .... and this mindset is growing with each passing day and body count.
ReplyDeleteMr. Gates is voicing his concerns because he knows what the consequences will be on the world stage if the U.S. decides to take a smaller role. Unfortunately .... for the rest of the world .... his concerns will not be listened to by a growing disenchanted electorate and their politicians who have other priorities for spending tax payer dollars.