Let's talk politics.

[Tamora]

No that is just discretionary spending. Its more like 3.5% of US GDP.

I know the target in the EU is 2% of GDP...many member states are below that.

Save me Googling it...what's discretionary spending?

[THOTbreaker]

I know the target in the EU is 2% of GDP...many member states are below that.

Save me Googling it...what's discretionary spending?

Discretionary spending is part of a larger spending plan that includes mandatory spending that funds social security and medicare. The discretionary spending changes at the discretion of the president and congress.

[ATP]

I don't think the US military is being gutted...sounds like a fear mongering Fox news talking point...

Military effectiveness doesn't directly correlate to the dollar amounts spent (and about 1/6th of those dollars referenced include spending that goes to the State Department for overseas contingencies, the actual operation of the V.A. and other defense related agencies, the Department of Homeland Security, operations within the DOJ, and the National Nuclear Security Administration).

"Gutted" has a whole lot more to do with mission objectives and priorities, leadership and command strengths, and unit support. I guess I'd ask what dandy things this current administration has done to support any of those elements, let alone improve them. Because I believe I have several examples of where the administration has diminished each.

And, just an observation from a guy who does not watch Fox - that statement isn't much of an argument and in fact, sounds whole lot like a talking point of its own, akin to "what difference does it make," "the IRS targeting was done by rogue personnel," or my recent favorite, "those were highly edited videos."

[mulkey]

Now they found out that Hillary used 3 devices at once......she must have a huge gash.

[Jackxxx]

I believe we are talking about illegal immigrants crossing our borders now.

I kind of find it funny that our opinions and concerns that we have said, Donald Trump is being bashed by the media for saying the same thing.

And thats exactly why I like Trump. Because the things he says are exactly the same things at least I personally talk on a daily basis with my friends. But somehow latinos and blacks are allowed to shout everything they dont like and nobody can say anything about it, but if Whites say what they dont like they are called racist, arrogant, discriminatory, ugly, smelly, nasty, obese, lazy, selfish, etc. F that shit and f illegal aliens! toss 'em all to the other side. And those who burn towns, toss them to messico too with the others.

[Pegasus]

I am working with a guy from Iran smart easy going sort guy ,came here legal ,not into politics or religion .
He does not have much of a view on the trade deal, but hopes it will be good for Iran .
He is going to an Aussie uni already speaks good English but is working on his strine.

[namsokiek]

I know the target in the EU is 2% of GDP...many member states are below that.

Save me Googling it...what's discretionary spending?

Discretionary spending is part of a larger spending plan that includes mandatory spending that funds social security and medicare. The discretionary spending changes at the discretion of the president and congress.

The comparison to GDP for all countries can be found on Wiki.

ta53ora, to expound on THOTbreaker's comments:

U.S._Federal_Spending_-_FY_2011.jpg

Last year's budget is similar to this years (it usually is). You'll note the mandatory spending (Healthcare, Social Security, Net Interest, and Other Mandatory spending) account for 66% of the budget. The discretionary spending has now dropped below 34%. So manipulations in the discretionary amounts carry little weight when compared to the growth of mandatory spending.

The problem is that few people like to consider changing the mandatory costs because someone will stop getting something they have grown accustomed to receiving. There are lots of things that push these costs up, but people don't want to address the drivers either.

In prior threads folks have postulated that because of the US population the laws of economics would favor a national plan for this or that; however, with greater number of diverse people comes a greater number of special interests; each clamoring for money to support their own "needs". This makes conversations about any spending cut a volatile topic.

Consider the "gutting" of the military. This broad term is bandied about at the end of each conflict. However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are the authors of each draw-down and each draw-down is entirely based upon the service's mission. The Navy and Air Force are platform organized (carriers, bomber squadrons) while the Army and Marines are infantry organized. The JCS is less concerned with the question "how many service members do I need during peace?" than they are with the questions "What is our next likely conflict, how will we confront the threat, and how soon will we be able to transition from peace time manning to wartime success?"

Being that it takes less time to train an infantryman than it does to build a nuclear carrier, the infantry organizations experience higher volatility than the platform organizations.

Personally, I prefer to have a smaller infantry force; it means we're not sending our youth to fight in another god-forsaken place to fight and die.

[Pegasus]

The Maori guy I am working with keeps talking about canablism; bit off puting . Still they are are close neighbours and allies and I laugh it off as part of his cultural heritage .

[CUSP82]

Okay guys so there are migrants and immigrants all over the place going from here to there. The latest is the wave in Europe. Is it fair to have the people of Europe to pay for all these people, feed them, house them? At what point does it become to much for those countries to handle?

[longerlastingnoob]

From what i've read, these migrants, and illegal immigrants, are coming here at the snap of a finger claiming benefits, taking our jobs ( took our jobbbbs) and are just being a drain on our economy.
From what i've seen, they come here after deciding they can't continue to live the way they are, do so reluctantly, having to leave their home, family, arrive in a strange place and do whatever they can to prosper. Claim benefits while they seek work and once, if, work is found then they work just as hard, some harder, as the rest of us. I'm not saying there aren't any who settle for benefits and even work the system by claiming where they shouldn't, but it seems only a small minority do, at least here.

I've gone from one menial job to the next and as I said what I have seen and what I have read or been led to believe are two different things.