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It was NEVER about the cost. (Original Post) kpete Dec 2021 OP
Follow the money. Baitball Blogger Dec 2021 #1
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Dec 2021 #4
I recall in Sept 2001, Defense Sec. Don Rumsfield announced that $2 trillion of defense spending Midnight Writer Dec 2021 #14
+1 Baitball Blogger Dec 2021 #18
Bingo! kewhawaii Dec 2021 #37
It is called Money Laundering. Tax money is paid to MIC firms then filters to the various campaign Ford_Prefect Dec 2021 #21
Why are the dates of these tweets never on these screenshots? CousinIT Dec 2021 #2
Here you go CousinIT: kpete Dec 2021 #7
THANK YOU kpete! CousinIT Dec 2021 #17
More the merrier! 2Gingersnaps Dec 2021 #30
Absolutely, cost of the BBB is not the issue at all. Irish_Dem Dec 2021 #3
Republicans DON'T want to help you. calimary Dec 2021 #5
The GOP wants unlimited power and wealth. Irish_Dem Dec 2021 #6
No joke Rebl2 Dec 2021 #8
And let's be clear: 1.9T was over 10 YEARS of spending NickB79 Dec 2021 #9
The US federal government spent over $6.1 trillion in 2020, which dwarfs the BBB per year spend Celerity Dec 2021 #10
Manchin just plunged 3 million kids back into poverty. Jon King Dec 2021 #11
No shit. You'd have to suspend reality and common sense to believe otherwise. onecaliberal Dec 2021 #12
Thou shalt not question the military. twodogsbarking Dec 2021 #13
Remember all that inflation from war spending? IronLionZion Dec 2021 #15
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Dec 2021 #31
America is mostly governed by rural shit heels. BannonsLiver Dec 2021 #16
This 👆 I_UndergroundPanther Dec 2021 #32
They are what serves corporate America. While you're at it, add white supremacist corporate tools. ancianita Dec 2021 #36
K&R Blue Owl Dec 2021 #19
It's time again DownriverDem Dec 2021 #20
There's one announced recently doing this but we need a lot more and it will take time LymphocyteLover Dec 2021 #23
Is it a perfect circle? I thought most Dems voted for the military bill? LymphocyteLover Dec 2021 #22
BBB money goes directly to the people, it's harder to steal and Hotler Dec 2021 #24
With the GOP it's NEVER about what they claim it to be Mr. Ected Dec 2021 #25
Manchin is Christmas Grinch! dlk Dec 2021 #26
The "win at all costs" Republicans will do anything to make Biden look bad Poiuyt Dec 2021 #27
The military bill was $8 trillion? CrispyQ Dec 2021 #28
Corrupt rich people I_UndergroundPanther Dec 2021 #33
uuumpf llashram Dec 2021 #29
Disservice to the people...Yes. But service to their corporate masters for certain. Scalded Nun Dec 2021 #34
If the diagram is a perfect circle ..... Shoonra Dec 2021 #35
Thank You for the Best Thread in Ages!!!! McKim Dec 2021 #38

Baitball Blogger

(46,949 posts)
1. Follow the money.
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 11:44 AM
Dec 2021

Apparently, conservatives how found a way to filter military budgets to their private causes. Someone with math abilities should audit how that money gets distributed. I bet we'll find that there is a lot of spending that is untraceable.

Response to Baitball Blogger (Reply #1)

Midnight Writer

(22,093 posts)
14. I recall in Sept 2001, Defense Sec. Don Rumsfield announced that $2 trillion of defense spending
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 01:16 PM
Dec 2021

could not be accounted for, per a Bush Administration audit.

Then, September 11.

The story about Defense money disappearing disappeared.

Ford_Prefect

(8,009 posts)
21. It is called Money Laundering. Tax money is paid to MIC firms then filters to the various campaign
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 02:03 PM
Dec 2021

funds for legislators, or into trust funds in their children's name, or into discreet accounts or other investments conveniently managed by off-shore firms. The larger the Military Spending Bill is the more the vig grows in proportion.

In some instances there are also bonuses paid by clients like Qatar or Saudi Arabia who have special relationships within the MIC, the Pentagon, and the State Department.

CousinIT

(9,367 posts)
2. Why are the dates of these tweets never on these screenshots?
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 11:55 AM
Dec 2021

I like to look them up ON twitter and retweet the original tweet. Hard to do when there is no date displayed on the screenshot.

Ah well.

calimary

(81,973 posts)
5. Republicans DON'T want to help you.
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 12:44 PM
Dec 2021

That’s the reason why. In six words.

They don’t believe in it, don’t want to do it, don’t want to pay for it. If you’re in need, so what? Tough! You’re on yer own.

And meanwhile, they’ll be the first and loudest to claim how “Christian” they are.

Irish_Dem

(50,309 posts)
6. The GOP wants unlimited power and wealth.
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 12:45 PM
Dec 2021

They must bring down the Dems and Biden to get what they want.

Celerity

(44,477 posts)
10. The US federal government spent over $6.1 trillion in 2020, which dwarfs the BBB per year spend
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 01:02 PM
Dec 2021

and the BBB was likely close to revenue neutral, especially if you binned most of that almost 300 billion usd SALT cap giveaway to the richest 10, 20% (and the majority went to the top 1%, ie people whose net worth STARTS at $11 million)



https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2020/09/federal-government-conclude-fiscal-2020-record-spending/168884/

Even without data from the month of September, the Treasury Department reports total federal spending exceeded $6 trillion for the first time.

Jon King

(1,910 posts)
11. Manchin just plunged 3 million kids back into poverty.
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 01:05 PM
Dec 2021

That is the thing Dems need to harp on over and over, the child tax credit.

onecaliberal

(33,381 posts)
12. No shit. You'd have to suspend reality and common sense to believe otherwise.
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 01:11 PM
Dec 2021

This is what I have been saying for 10
Months.

Response to IronLionZion (Reply #15)

I_UndergroundPanther

(12,605 posts)
32. This 👆
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 07:35 PM
Dec 2021

I would add,self serving,greedy,
arrogant,narcissistic,
selfish,evil hearted,abusive,
hierarchical, authoritatian, many flavored haters, bullying,manipulative,
power hungry,control freaks,freedom hating, democracy hating,
causing and getting off on the suffering of anyone they don't like,
Sadistic,over wealthy worthless criminal ,lazy,asshole, rural shitheels .

ancianita

(36,511 posts)
36. They are what serves corporate America. While you're at it, add white supremacist corporate tools.
Mon Dec 20, 2021, 12:18 AM
Dec 2021

It takes a lot of sellouts plus one Manchin Big Coal tool to make a majority, doesn't it.

DownriverDem

(6,277 posts)
20. It's time again
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 02:02 PM
Dec 2021

to find some rich Dems who will finance AM stations to get our message out. 40 years of RW views is why we just can't get folks to wake up.

LymphocyteLover

(5,751 posts)
23. There's one announced recently doing this but we need a lot more and it will take time
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 02:12 PM
Dec 2021

which sadly we don't have

Mr. Ected

(9,678 posts)
25. With the GOP it's NEVER about what they claim it to be
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 02:18 PM
Dec 2021

A shame our press doesn't pursue these things rather than accepting every lame excuse in the book and perpetuating it.

dlk

(11,697 posts)
26. Manchin is Christmas Grinch!
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 02:27 PM
Dec 2021

We can’t have a both a plutocracy and a democracy. It can only be either/or and Manchin, along with the Republicans, has made his choice clear.

Poiuyt

(18,153 posts)
27. The "win at all costs" Republicans will do anything to make Biden look bad
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 03:28 PM
Dec 2021

Even if it's bad for America

CrispyQ

(36,786 posts)
28. The military bill was $8 trillion?
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 04:16 PM
Dec 2021

Oh, I see.


Bloated defense budget passes easily but Congress fights over safety net programs
Oct. 1, 2021, 12:19 PM MDT
By Michael A. Cohen, MSNBC Opinion Columnist

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/bloated-defense-budget-passes-easily-congress-fights-over-safety-net-n1280568

snip...

Joe Biden once famously said “Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.” Over the past week, Congress has depressingly proved the president was on to something.

Though Democrats are tying themselves in knots over a 10-year $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package -- and Republicans are uniformly opposing it -- on Sept. 23, the House of Representatives, with little rancor or controversy, passed a $768 billion package of goodies for the Pentagon.

Assuming the defense budget doesn’t go down (and it rarely does), over 10 years that would mean almost $8 trillion to the Pentagon. That would be more than double the cost of Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, which has been billed as a historic expansion of America’s social safety net.

Even in 2021, as Congress is considering historic pieces of progressive legislation, Washington still values defense dollars -- for wars that America shouldn’t and likely won’t fight -- over prioritizing the needs of the American people.

Shoonra

(525 posts)
35. If the diagram is a perfect circle .....
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 09:38 PM
Dec 2021

.... then it's not a Venn Diagram but rather a Euler Diagram.

McKim

(2,412 posts)
38. Thank You for the Best Thread in Ages!!!!
Mon Dec 20, 2021, 11:17 AM
Dec 2021

Thank you for the best thread in ages. This military spending is the gigantic elephant in America's livingroom. The great discussion and the links provided by comments made my day in a dark time as we await the results of our selfishly not sharing vaccines with the rest of the world. A big hug to everyone on this thread. This outrageous spending is the source of our social poverty and suffering in America! Keep talking folks!!!!!

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