Raise your hand if you saw this coming a light-year away

[Black Aeronaut]

Honestly, does the USA really need a military base in every state? You're duplicating a lot of swivel-chair positions that you don't need and sitting on a lot of high-value land that would be better sold to fund land purchases to expand the military bases that you actually do need. A fair chunk of that "military" spending is ideological in nature, not strategic.

The Congresscreatures won't let us close down bases in their states.  Whatever state it is, a military base brings in cash for the surrounding communities, so if Senator Bedfellow or Representative Venal voted to close Fort Desolate in the great state of Jerkwater, Jerkwater's "good citizens" would vote Bedfellow and/or Venal out of D.C. in the very next election.  Austerity is something to be applied to a state other than wonderful Jerkwater, backbone of the United States.  NIMBY, y'know, except in this case it's "not out of my (profitable) back yard."

Actually, it's mostly logistical support. You know, that thing that makes it so countries like China and Russia don't get too far carried away with their antics.

Trust me. If we did back down, they'd start up. Russia proved that this wasn't a concern for them with the events in Crimea. And China is going full-tilt with their artificial islands. The only reason why they don't go a-viking is because our military is camped out in conveniently close places like Japan and Turkey.

So pipe down about the military spending. Let's turn our sights towards the real enemy: the Rich Old White Men.

I would propose that paying actual living wages will nip both problems of income and expense in the bud. Income because only people that make living wages really pay taxes. And expense because if people are making living wages, then they have no need for social safety nets like food stamps and the like.

Income goes up. Expenses go down. Simple, ain't it?

What puzzles me is that there are some that feel that if people are suddenly making more money that they aren't gonna spend it.

I'm sorry, but Fordism worked for Henry Ford back in the 1920's, and it will work now.