General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFor U.S. Merchants of death it's Christmas all year long!
Last edited Sun Dec 27, 2015, 05:39 PM - Edit history (1)
U.S. Foreign Arms Deals Increased Nearly $10 Billion in 2014By NICHOLAS FANDOS DEC. 25, 2015
WASHINGTON — Foreign arms sales by the United States jumped by almost
$10 billion in 2014, about 35 percent, even as the global weapons market
remained flat and competition among suppliers increased, a new
congressional study has found.
American weapons receipts rose to $36.2 billion in 2014 from $26.7
billion the year before, bolstered by multibilliondollar agreements with Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Those deals and others ensured that the United
States remained the single largest provider of arms around the world last year,
controlling just over 50 percent of the market.
Russia followed the United States as the top weapons supplier, completing
$10.2 billion in sales, compared with $10.3 billion in 2013. Sweden was third,
with roughly $5.5 billion in sales, followed by France with $4.4 billion and
China with $2.2 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-deals-increased-nearly-10-billion-in-2014.html?_r=0
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Scuba
(53,475 posts)
tecelote
(5,122 posts)Excess profits tax
In the United States, an excess profits tax is a tax, some say excise tax, on any profit above a certain amount. A predominantly wartime fiscal instrument, the tax was designed primarily to capture wartime profits that exceeded normal peacetime profits to prevent perverse incentives for manufacturers to engage in war profiteering and warmongering.
---
Snip...
The Korean War induced Congress to reimpose an excess profits tax, effective from 1 July 1950 to 31 December 1953. The tax rate was 30 percent of excess profits with the top corporate tax rate rising from 45% to 47%, a 70 percent ceiling for the combined corporation and excess profits taxes.
---
Take the profit out of our wars and they will end tomorrow.
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)Is there any movement towards this?
FlatBaroque
(3,160 posts)We're number 1
bulloney
(4,113 posts)Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)...there is a movie, Lord of War.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/?ref_=nv_sr_6
The topic is gun runners and it is based on and portrays actual events. The final scene shows an incredible amount of spent brass with these words superimposed:
"While private gunrunners continue to thrive, the world's biggest arms suppliers are the U.S., U.K., Russia, France, and China. They are also the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council."
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)tools of death and destruction.
Grrr...
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)...that's a shoe without a size. We see time and again that the right leaders, the wrong leaders or even just enough leaders can speak, vote and/or inspire a nation to war. That shoes fits just about every foot.
The character Sarah Connor spoke about creativity when paid for by the government:
"Men like you built the hydrogen bomb. Men like you thought it up."
The defense budget for FY 2016 is $585 billion. Suppose we cut that by 1% and went to the poorest nation of earth spent it building, helping and improving life there in general. $5.85 billion would do a lot in Somalia or the DRC. I'm not talking just a check to those governments. I'm thinking air drops of food, clothes and necessities. In Somalia for example that would almost double the per capita GDP.
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)It's sad how so many of us can see the problem, but no one can seem to do anything about it.
In my case, my top two issues are global warming and excess militarism...
We are making some progress on GW, not much on militarism and stopping war.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)They unite for you and against the other candidate(s).
Once elected, you need the people to remain united even more so. Those of the opposing party need to be given a reason to, if not favor you, to at least stop opposing you. Nothing creates an ally like a common enemy.
Any more, I'm always suspicious when a war begins in the first year after a new president takes office.
DhhD
(4,695 posts)of Death must be salivating at the mouth, for new government contracts coming at the first of 2016.
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)more destruction is on the way... who cares about money when there's bad guys to blow up?
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)EX500rider
(10,842 posts)Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)They're just better at not getting their own hands dirty.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Sickening.
