Ann Marie Buerkle: If You Want to Cut Government Spending, Work to End War

We live in a perpetual state of war.

The amount of money the US spends on wars past and present is obscene. 

I challenge Ann Marie Buerkle to step up and demand an end to war before she supports another dollar cut from education. 

U.S. Military Spending vs. The World
U.S. military spending – Dept. of Defense plus nuclear weapons (in $billions) – is equal to the military spending of the next 15 countries combined.

These numbers show military expenditures for each country. Some say that U.S. military spending will naturally be higher because it has the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any country. The United States accounts for 47 percent of the world’s total military spending, however the U.S.’s share of the world's GDP is about 21 percent. Also note that of the top 15 countries shown, at least 12 are considered allies of the U.S. The U.S. outspends Iran and North Korea by a ratio of 72 to one.

Source: War Resisters League (thank you for all you do to bring sanity to our world)  www.warresisters.org

Does She Have Any Idea How Much Wars Cost?

From the website/blog Irregular Times:

Ann Marie Buerkle Supports Big Government Spending

posted 25th November 2010 by jclifford, Irregular Times

Question:

How can the following two statements be reconciled?

1) "Less government spending, and limited government interference are the building blocks for economic growth."

2) "Our armed forces must be ready to act anywhere in the world."

Answer:

Make policy decisions like Ann Marie Buerkle, the new U.S. Representative for New York's 25th congressional district, does. Rather than thinking through the logical consequences of the policies she supports, Buerkle follows popular slogans that have proven to be electorally effective for Republican candidates. So, Buerkle can say that she's for smaller government at the same time that she proposes expanding the jurisdiction of the U.S. federal government to cover the entire globe. Buerkle can say that she's for reducing spending at the same time that she's suggesting massive increases in the Pentagon budget. How does Ann Marie Buerkle do it? She simply doesn't go through the trouble of thinking before she speaks.