Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay has been in hot water as of late for falling short by about $10 Billion in his quotes for acquiring what many believe are unnecessary and ill-suited F-35 fighter planes.
And now, in what seems to be a consistent theme from the Harper government, MacKay has been caught in another lie, yet again. (more…)
Take from the poor, give to the rich. Once again, the Conservative’s true agenda is shining through in the 2012 federal budget.
Science spending is getting slashed. The environment is taking a hit, and social services are being dropped. Pensions are being pilfered (unless your a Member of Parliament). Even our cherished CBC is taking a blow, despite promises to the contrary.
Do you know what’s not getting touched? (more…)
With major trading partners teetering on the brink of economic collapse, Canadians have been looking for ways to tighten belts. A great place to find unnecessary expenditures is with the military, since the only wars we’ve been fighting lately are the ones we make ourselves.
A new report outlines ways to do just that – cut 5-10%, or over a billion dollars, from our bloated defense budget. The report takes aim at the bureaucracy, opting to fire civilian staff and merge departments without compromising front-line integrity.
Still, these recommendations are going to be a hard sell, as it will require shaking up the military establishment. Without significant political pressure, these proposed cuts could easily be ignored.
This is where the Canadian public comes in. Already sick of the Afghan war, it’s time for Canadians to really make some noise and let our political leaders know we don’t want or need politically organized armed conflict anymore.
Sure, one billion in slashed spending is a great start, but we want the cuts to go far deeper. There are better ways to invest our precious treasure to improve the world.
These billions we blow on death and destruction could instead be used for building wells, spreading solar cookers, or feeding and schooling children. Rather than focusing on killing off the “bad guys”, we could be helping to strengthen the world’s communities, making it so they are able to handle their own affairs.
It’s time we moved beyond our roles as peace-keepers to become peace-builders, attacking the root causes of conflict instead of just the symptoms.
(Kucinich talking budget cuts and the Pentagon’s unaccounted $2.3 Trillion)
US Defense Secretary Robert M Gates revealed the new military budget, which will phase in $78 billion dollars in projected cuts over the next five years.
Upon hearing this news, I was prepared to celebrate. Even if this $78 billion is just peanuts, translating to roughly 43 days of war (at 2010’s 661 Billion/year). Even if these cuts amount to less than 3% of the trillions they plan to spend over the next five years. It just would have been nice to relish a small victory against the Military Industrial Complex.
However, my party balloons were popped pretty quick upon reading the fine print: these cuts won’t take effect for another two years! This means the war machine will still enjoy two full years with increased spending. Plus, they also have a two year window to figure out a way to find more money come 2013.
The United States people are suffering from paying for wars they no longer support. The Iraqi and Afghan people no longer want foreign troops in their country (as if they ever did). The entire world would be in a better place if the US were to spend these trillions on something other than armed conflict.
Enough with this senseless waste of blood and treasure . Slash these war budgets now!
