Leftist Delusions about the Pentagon Budget

This is a generic rant (mostly copied from a comment I made on another blog) about the Generic Lefty idea that there would be plenty of money for their causes if we would just cut the Pentagon's bloated budget.

Er, NO.

Sorry folks, whenever there is a natural disaster anywhere in the world (or peacekeeping, or whatever) the first thing other countries do is look around for a contribution or participation by the US Military.  Yes, there is Bloat and waste, but that seems to be a feature of any complex organization.  Bureaucracies make decision for their own twisted rationale (Why does every University need a Dean of Minority affairs?).  Nice work if you can get it.

A real world recent example is the Pentagon's decision to close the C-17 Production Line (176 of a planned 300?), but if you do NOT know off the top of your head what a C-17 is and it's role, you are not qualified to make a meaningful comment.

Cutting the Pentagon Budget would more than likely lead to LESS resources for all the OTHER things the world relies on the US Military for.  We remain the essential great power.  Would you rather rely on China for services in a humanitarian crisis?

So let's just raise taxes on the Plutocrats, and use that money to rebuild our infrastructure.  Their are plenty of underemployed National Guardsmen (and women) who would be happy to help run a CCC type organization, like their grandfathers did in the 1930's.

Lefty Fantasies about getting money from the Pentagon Budget are as delusional as Right Wing ones about the savings to be wrung out of fraud in the welfare system.