Someone said the budget is a moral document. In today’s NY Times, Bob Herbert talks about what the budget-cutters and Obama are going to do to our poorer brothers and sisters. The President’s budget director, Jacob Lew, said in The New York Times: “The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.” The President should listen to him.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/opinion/20herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
When one wonders about cutting the military budget by 25% to provide funds for our communities, ROTC has to come to mind. It is a gigantic operation at universities, colleges, and high schools across the land. It militarizes our educational system and dilutes its academic standards. Years ago the Ivy League schools stopped giving it course credit because it was so mindless and now offer it as an extracurricular activity like the frisbee club or humor magazine. Worse yet, it costs so much money. This year’s budget sets aside $1.328 billion for it. Worse yet, it uses up three times the budget of the Peace Corps ($446 million). And most people would agree that the Peace Corps does more good for this nation than ROTC. A far more efficient way to create military officers is to send competent college graduates to OCS. It is a path that has been proven over many years.
Slowly, slowly the Congress is paying attention to the crying need for massive cuts in military spending. This Columbia Journalism Review article notes that, as usual, the press seems to be clueless. Read all about it.
http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/congress_gives_defense_spending_a_look.php
An excellent Christian Science Monitor op-ed piece about drastically cutting military spending. It’s by a fellow at the Cato Institute.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0427/p09s01-coop.html
