Well now surely there MUST be a middleground ? Somewhere in between letting the world be run over by the Chinese and the Russians and spending more than the next 10 countries combined ?
And perhaps it turns out that investing in areas like this that help towards education / can help the youth in need later lends to less spending in other areas, by diminishing crime, by increasing the odds that those people can get a good life and be 'productive members of society who pay their taxes and give back' ? Perhaps it could help reduce the spending on prisons and other programs ?
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Best not to risk it.
The only reason we spend so much is because nobody else can or will. It is so easy to invest in cheap medicine and cheap education when somebody else is taking the risk of making and investing in the medicine, and it is so easy to reduce the military to community organizers, or at best a 2 year service commitment, when you know that America's sons and daughters are in your countries and on your borders ready to kill and be killed in your defense. Bad men tried to take Europe and Asia a lifetime ago. Our blood and money isn't the only reason they were stopped, but it is the largest reason they were broken and shattered so badly that surrender was unconditional. Maybe the Soviets would've chosen to stop at their own borders. Maybe Saddam would've stopped in Kuwait. Maybe the Jews could coexist with the Arabs that want them exterminated. Because of America the world doesn't need to hope or wonder. Without the threat, deterrence, and promise we provide, it leaves a vacuum.
Russia, China, Haji, Sicarios, and pirates might fill the gap. Or the rest of the world is going to have to step up. That will hurt. It will cost money, goodwill, and blood. Early mornings, late nights, hard work, repetition, and discipline. America can compromise, but everyone else will need to change, too. You can bet on the bad guys choosing good, or the good guys will have to make sacrifices. It will hurt their services and entitlements. It will call for blood and tears.
And perhaps it turns out that investing in areas like this that help towards education / can help the youth in need later lends to less spending in other areas, by diminishing crime, by increasing the odds that those people can get a good life and be 'productive members of society who pay their taxes and give back' ? Perhaps it could help reduce the spending on prisons and other programs ?
.
Best not to risk it.