SecDef Gates announces surprising cuts in defense budget
“Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday told Congress the administration is seeking $78 billion in cuts to the Defense budget over the next five years on top of $100 billion in efficiencies.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said after the morning briefing that he was deeply concerned about the surprising depth of the spending cuts. McKeon said he had gone into the meeting expecting to oppose the plan to trim $100 billion in waste when Gates announced the additional $78 billion in reductions.
“We are fighting two wars, you have China, you have Iran: Is this the time to be making these types of cuts?” McKeon said.
The depth of the cuts exceeded that predicted by defense analysts and appear to show the seriousness with which the White House is pursuing deficit reduction. Analysts had expected the approximately $80 billion in savings returned to the Treasury to come out of the $100 billion in savings Gates was seeking.”
Just to make sure it’s clear, $100 billion of the savings sought by Gates would be kept within the Defense Department and used for other defense purposes. The additional $78 billion over five years would be actual reductions in projected spending. (And again, just for clarity’s sake, the cuts are in projected spending — actual Defense spending would rise slightly and then level out over the next five years.)
I think the only way to understand this move is as the opening gambit of a series of budget-cutting, deficit-reducing proposals by the Obama administration. I don’t see it being reported that way yet, but it makes sense. The president is not going to make cutting defense his only or even his major deficit-reducing effort. Between now and his State of the Union address, I suspect we’ll see a string of similar announcements, so that he can tell the American people that he is doing his part to close the deficit and challenging the Republicans to do the same.
For example, the Gates proposal calls for “modest increases” in the amount that working-age veterans pay for health care through the government’s TriCare program, noting that such fees haven’t been raised since 1995. That makes sense, but it suggests that similar or greater increases will be proposed for civilian contributions to federal health-care programs, including perhaps for federal employees.
Again, this is all just conjecture on my part. But it’s the only thing that makes sense.
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238 comments Add your comment
Scout
January 6th, 2011
10:33 pm
………….. and while we are talking about cutting the defense budget while sending 1400 more Marines to Afghanistan may we ponder a few words from Winston Churchill :
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerouis in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy, improvident habits, slovenly systems o fagriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Phophet rule or live.
A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child, a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die.
The influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith.”
Scout
January 6th, 2011
10:34 pm
josef:
Tell me ………… what were Mondays “and” January 9th !!
Dusty
January 6th, 2011
10:35 pm
Taxpayer,
When I depend on you to tell me what taxes to pay and what letters to write, I’ll be crazy enough to be a liberal. Fortunately, such a deplorable condition has not happened.
md
January 6th, 2011
10:35 pm
Folks would be wise to learn the terms finite and infinite.
One applies to the funds we have available and the other applies to the funds many think we have available. And there is lies the problem, for they wish to give way more than we have to give……..
josef nix
January 6th, 2011
10:40 pm
DUSTY
Money for education is not a debt on the future. It is an investment…
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!” — Man of la Mancha
Doggone/GA
January 6th, 2011
10:41 pm
“for they wish to give way more than we have to give……..”
Indeed…so now how do we explain that in a way they will understand to our borrow and spend “conservative” friends?
Scout
January 6th, 2011
10:45 pm
Headline (NY Times) : “The Islam That Hard-Liners Hate”
Ah, the wonderful, peaceful world of Islam.
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/the-islam-that-hard-liners-hate/?hp
josef nix
January 6th, 2011
10:45 pm
Time to call it quits for the night…gotta test the l’il b*ggers tomorrow to see what progress they’ve made toward meeting the curriculum objectives as per the standardized test…yep, the kindergartners…
Southern Comfort
January 6th, 2011
10:49 pm
Ok josef…
NoCom
I’ve been itching to give that award out, but I haven’t found anyone truly worthy of it yet. There’s been a few close calls though.
md
January 6th, 2011
10:51 pm
“Indeed…so now how do we explain that in a way they will understand to our borrow and spend “conservative” friends?”
Now that is indeed the question, and it applies to all the misfits…………but, they are of the type that need the anvil to the head.
One order of Crisis management coming up……………….
Dusty
January 6th, 2011
10:52 pm
JOSEF,
Your Jewish traditions are wonderful. Mine were Christian. I was baptized and carried to church and Sunday School as soon as I could walk. My mother taught Sunday School and my father was a Steward. We always had devotional material at home and Bible study books on our bookshelves. My father practiced medicine in a small town and did not receive pay from many of his patients. They did not have the money. Some brought whatever they had from the farm or from home . He treated everyone who came no matter what.. I learned about giving and concern and love from my parents. THEY sent me to school and took care of me in every way. They would have had it no other way. Yes, I was blessed too and I wish that for every other child.
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 6th, 2011
10:53 pm
A few here qualify especially now that the nut cutting is starting. I wanted you to cut everybody ELSEs programs NOT MINE
LMAO
Dusty
January 6th, 2011
10:58 pm
Goodnight, Josef. I understand quite well that education is an investment. That is true for several things. But the debt is NOW and will continue on top of the investment. Take care of your school kiddies and I know you will . They are going to need a lot of help to unload what is ahead of them.
md
January 6th, 2011
10:59 pm
“I wanted you to cut everybody ELSEs programs NOT MINE ”
Let’s not forget the rich…………don’t cut my program and tax the hell out of the rich……yeh, that’s the ticket.
(That may be the easy way…………but not necessarily the “right” way)
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 6th, 2011
10:59 pm
SoCo@10:49 pm
I’ve been itching to give that award out, but I haven’t found anyone truly worthy of it yet. There’s been a few close calls though.
—————————–
I am SOOOOOOOOOOO honored
Southern Comfort
January 6th, 2011
11:01 pm
now that the nut cutting is starting
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 6th, 2011
11:03 pm
And they will be using meat cleavers not scapels LOL
Southern Comfort
January 6th, 2011
11:04 pm
Come on man!!!! That’s just brutal…
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 6th, 2011
11:05 pm
md
I do agree with you about the easy vs the right way as I stated in my discussion with HD earlier
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 6th, 2011
11:06 pm
Start with a few good men?
Southern Comfort
January 6th, 2011
11:11 pm
Tread lightly so you don’t get your head bitten off…
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 6th, 2011
11:16 pm
who do YOU think I was refering to????
LOL
Southern Comfort
January 6th, 2011
11:25 pm
Don’t know if you had anyone specific in mind. Just giving you a warning based on my past experiences.
Granny Godzilla
January 7th, 2011
7:25 am
And John Boehner still can’t name a specific budget cut.
What the hell has he been doing for the last 60 days?
I really think he should have shown up to work the first day PREPARED.
Del
January 7th, 2011
7:33 am
SoCo,
You stated your case…the problem is you state your case from cut and paste and by doing so you’re only accepting the opinion of someone else. You accept it based on a viewpoint that’s politically convenient for you and not from any personal knowledge about the subject. I’ve been around a little while, so I can see through it.
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 7th, 2011
7:34 am
Granny – I think it is more won’t vs can’t
stands for decibels
January 7th, 2011
7:35 am
mornin’.
The president is not going to make cutting defense his only or even his major deficit-reducing effort. Between now and his State of the Union address, I suspect we’ll see a string of similar announcements, so that he can tell the American people that he is doing his part to close the deficit and challenging the Republicans to do the same.
Late to the topic, but all I can say at this point is that I haven’t seen any analysis of the SecDef’s announcement that challenges Jay’s presumptions of what this all means for the White House’s strategy, so his take makes sense to me.
I’ll add that making the first major announcement about DoD spending might be something of a sop to the progressives, who obviously aren’t uniformly thrilled about William Daley being named CoS.
stands for decibels
January 7th, 2011
7:37 am
mornin’ Del, Common, Granny. What’s shakin’?
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 7th, 2011
7:40 am
The preemptive strikes by the WH have just started, Boehner has not said what he wants to cut so if the WH reaches the magic number first it might just get bloody
Granny Godzilla
January 7th, 2011
7:42 am
Stands
Good Morning to you!
It’s Friday and tonight is family steak night.
Even the troll can’t tick me off today!
TaxPayer
January 7th, 2011
7:43 am
Even the troll can’t tick me off today!
Which one.
Southern Comfort
January 7th, 2011
7:45 am
Del
The case or point I’m making is in relation to cost overruns. Even if I worked on that specific project, I would use cut and paste. I can pretty much guess that any info directly related to the costs are classified. If you’ve noticed, even when discussing immigration, which is what I do for a living, I use open internet information. I am not going to use classified or official information just to make a point here. I’m not losing my job just to post information I know of first hand.
Here’s another cut and paste. Would you consider this opinion or fact? Is this a reliable source for facts.
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program, which has long languished under cost and scheduling overruns due to unreliability during testing, now has doubled in price and won’t bear fruit until 2015, according to an internal defense report.
Program acquisition unit costs per vehicle are now expected to total $22.3 million each, up from $12.3 million estimated last August, according to briefing slides from a March 1 stakeholder report obtained by Marine Corps Times.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/03/mcefv070314/
And that amount is from 2007.
Good morning everyone.
stands for decibels
January 7th, 2011
7:48 am
Totally off topic, just a thought.
Saw this bit in the NYTimes entitled “A Little-Known Strategy for Cutting Mortgage Payments”.
It describes something I had, honestly, never heard of before–the practice of allowing mortgage holders to pay a decent chunk of the principal (>$5000, apparently) and recalculating the remaining payments on the loan accordingly. The bank charges a modest fee for the rather modest service, but it’s nothing approaching what you pay for a refinance, since, after all, you are not making a “new” loan.
Here’s what stuck out in the piece:
Lenders, which would probably rather earn thousands of dollars in closing fees from refinancing your loan, are not obliged to recast mortgages.
And here’s the difference between a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-controlled one. If I get a thousand or so not-stupid people together and complain to Democratic representatives that maybe a bill ought to either encourage lenders to do such things with a carrot, or even require them with a stick, and that such legislation should mandate the kinds of fees that could be charged? it might actually happen.
With a GOP controlled house, there’s no use even trying. (IMHO. YMMV.)
stands for decibels
January 7th, 2011
7:49 am
aw crap, dead threaded. Upstairs to see what Fat Tony’s up to now…
Mary Elizabeth
January 7th, 2011
8:07 am
Mick @ 9:09 pm. and Matti @ 9:11 p.m.
Thank you both for your kind and supportive remarks regarding teaching last evening. Much appreciated!
and josef – I loved your Man of La Mancha quote!
Dusty @ 9:46
You seem like a nice, authetic lady to me. Even though we have different political philosophies, I want you to know that I support paying down our national debt for our children and their children.
I am simply astounded by what I perceive as a Republican plan to have run up the national deficit, deliberately, in order to do away with social programs called entitlements, as much as possible.
(See my posting at 11:12 a.m. I mentioned wars, and a climate of greed, but I failed to mention the huge tax cuts for the wealthy that esp. ran up the deficit (at 11:12 a.m.)
So while I support cutting into America’s debt for future generations, I am still going to speak strongly for the continuation of social programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and now even public education, and some form of government (non-profit) intervention in national health care. I believe these programs make America a more humane nation, and Americans more humane as individuals, and that they do not make people dependent, as is the popular talking point against them.
I believe every American has the essential right to a good public education and good medical care which will be guaranteed through federal intervention into profit centered insurance companies. I do not believe Americans need to be fending for themselves – individually – in terms of their educational advancement and their medical care. Likewise, I believe that as people become old that they should have a government safety net through Social Security and Medicare.
In other words, I am appalled at what Republicans have tried to do to dehumanize this nation in terms of its social programs and I am going to be speaking in favor of them relentlessly to keep our nation humane, as I see it. We can do this, and still cut the budget, if we do not buy into Republican spin in order to enhance their self-oriented goals.
Our nation, and perhaps the world, is pivoting in outlook on the difference between two fundamental ways of seeing oneself in relation to others – inordinate self-interest or communal interest. Since I spent my professional life, as I described last night, giving so much of myself to others – over and beyond what I was simply paid to do – I have no patience whatsoever with the newer trend of greedy self-interest by some on the Right. (Yourself excluded, of course!)
TnGelding
January 7th, 2011
8:27 am
Gosh a whole $78 billion! Do you think it will render us defenseless? Good grief! Get real.
Riaw07
January 7th, 2011
8:41 am
Prekindergarten programs are expanding rapidly but evidence on their effects is limited. Using rich data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we estimate the effects of prekindergarten on children’s school readiness. We find that prekindergarten is associated with higher reading and mathematics skills at school entry, but also higher levels of behavior problems. By the spring of first grade, estimated effects on academic skills have largely dissipated, but the behavioral effects persist.–Katherine A. Magnusona, Christopher Ruhmb and Jane Waldfogel
Federal Worker
January 7th, 2011
9:11 am
I’m doing my part to cut the deficit. No pay raises for the next two years, and probably the work budget will be cut back to 2008 levels. So what are the rest of you doing, aside from the teachers, who get their pay cut by virtue of furlough days?
And before any neanderthal starts griping, this is my day off after I’ve worked four 10-hour days, so don’t give me that crap about blogging on work time.