Another government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis are on the horizon. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is a member of the conference committee charged with submitting formal budget recommendations by Friday.
Grassley knows, as does every other member of Congress and every economist, that a dollar spent on the military creates far fewer jobs than a dollar spent in education, alternative energy or infrastructure. He knows that the Pentagon never has been audited. He knows that military spending constitutes more than one-half of federal discretionary spending and is fraught with waste. He knows that the United States spends more on military than the next 10 largest-spending countries combined.
He should listen to what he already knows. He must insist that a substantial reduction in military spending be the first step in addressing our fiscal crises. We must insist that he listen to what he already knows.
Ed Flaherty
Iowa City
via Insist on reduction of military spending | The Cedar Rapids Gazette.