tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post1739421568810363024..comments2023-08-21T03:51:17.425-06:00Comments on Enlightened Catholicism: Coporate Welfare, Defense Spending, And Real Threats To Our Securitycolkochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03432916690101599393noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-29079433736553031362012-09-14T07:12:49.199-06:002012-09-14T07:12:49.199-06:00By the time it gets through the pipeline we'll...By the time it gets through the pipeline we'll have a pretty plane with nothing for it to do. Unless it isn't already rendered obsolete by a $100,000 missile. According to Ryan, et al, these aren't really government jobs, even though they are commissioned by the government and paid for by the taxpayers. As long as there is money to be skimmed off the top by some nominally "private" enterprise, it's all good. scriptohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17899049404620738944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-5297914630856207122012-09-11T22:31:26.667-06:002012-09-11T22:31:26.667-06:00...Seems to me jobs are jobs. The government can c...<i>...Seems to me jobs are jobs. The government can create them by buying the engines of war or they can create them by fixing our very necessary infrastructure.</i> This is one of the reasons I walked away from calling myself a Conservative. I was told for years that capitalism is the greatest system for uplifting the living standards of mankind in history. My contention with that is that any human system is faulty and can be improved. I've gotten so miffed listening to GOP'ers tell me that stimulus programs like FDR'S New Deal didn't work and only prolonged the Depression that it took a WW2 to end it. So , essentially free market Capitalism can only find a use for everyone's time and skills only when our nation is engaged in warfare. Why can't Big Gubmint employ people to do other more productive things?<br /><br />OTOH, the Forbes 400 has seen more billionaires take up spots in its list in the last 20 years during a time of "free market" deregulation. Meanwhile, the eight hour day, the forty hour week, guaranteed retirement, the right to health care, etc. are all proving to be too “utopian” for the market to provide. Apparently, it's getting too expensive to keep elderly and disabled people from digging in dumpsters and eating cat food to live on like they used to before Social Security and Medicare.<br /><br />The other issue I see looming more is how artificial intelligence is replacing more occupations than the economy can create. Our whole idea of jobs and careers are being transformed.<br /><br />John FremontAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-20880826701837875972012-09-11T22:09:11.460-06:002012-09-11T22:09:11.460-06:00This is just the latest attempt to create a joint ...This is just the latest attempt to create a joint strike fighter, something begun by McNamara<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-78731687464046848742012-09-11T21:35:55.206-06:002012-09-11T21:35:55.206-06:00I don't disagree Tom. We don't need compet...I don't disagree Tom. We don't need competing services. We do need combat specialists of one sort or another, but they can all wear the same uniform with out impeding their efficiency.<br /><br />The F35 is actually a start in that direction since in it's three variations it's supposed to become the fighter for all services, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. The hang up right now is the vertical take off, or jump jet version. It has weight vs power issues. There's some other issues too, but the Air Force version is pretty much ready for production--at double of what it was supposed to cost.colkochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432916690101599393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-89565250823651645262012-09-11T21:28:33.263-06:002012-09-11T21:28:33.263-06:00Blame Congress. Senators and Representatives want...Blame Congress. Senators and Representatives want committees to chair and become partisans of their services to the detriment of overall military efficiency. Remember that DOD was willing to close hundreds of bases but the politicians were not. We do not need all the officers in the Joint Chiefs of Staff if their is only one military chain of command. We don't need competing recruiting services and their exhibition teams and TV budgets if there is only one service. We have known since McNamara about the communications, maintenance, and procurement inefficiencies caused by maintaining multiple military services and academies and rivalries.<br />Tom in UCityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-44381236097386857062012-09-09T19:49:42.087-06:002012-09-09T19:49:42.087-06:00I've wondered that myself, and now drone manuf...I've wondered that myself, and now drone manufacturers are pitching there wares to beef up the militarization of our police departments. It is all a bit unsettling.colkochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432916690101599393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8383701632927065467.post-80199118869358860462012-09-09T19:16:08.638-06:002012-09-09T19:16:08.638-06:00"Some very smart people are suggesting the US..."Some very smart people are suggesting the US's real security issue is it's unemployment level and escalating poverty. I happen to agree."<br /><br />I wonder if that's why we are witnessing the progessive militarization of our municipal police forces with the purchase of tanks, drones and other military style equipment? Just a bit unsettling to say the least...jamezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12910320855332238203noreply@blogger.com