Letter: Cut military spending to fix budget deficit

Regarding the recent [Economic Analysis] column [Criticism of president’s budget is deserved but off the mark, Feb. 28], rather than being informative, it seemed to be more of an insult to Democrats who have consistently advocated policies that address some systemic social problems in our society. You seem to demean their values and policies by referring to the Democrats as politicians who “favor the social therapeutic services complex,” and if by that you mean Medicaid, public education, the hospitals, affordable housing, and a host of other issues which seem to be ignored by the Republicans that you so obviously support, yes, that’s the Democratic Party I support.

On the other hand, the military industrial complex is one of the largest ever seen in history, even during wartime. The current military is larger than the next five militaries in the world, and that includes Russia and China. We have 11 carriers, and China has one that is still undergoing sea trials. We have our troops in countries all over the world. At least in two of the countries we are not wanted there because we invaded the country and have occupied it for 17 years in the case of Iraq and 18 years in the case of Afghanistan. That’s where the cuts should take place, not in social services.

Furthermore, there is simply no reason to have a deficit when the economy is doing so well if the administration would simply tax the rich so that all are paying their fair share, including the corporations that were drawn back to the United States by “the lower corporate tax rate.” I believe the United States is paying annually over $400 billion on debt payment for the deficit. How can that be good fiscal management, especially when the Republicans claim that they are the party that keeps track of the purse strings?

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Michael K. Sutherlin