I recently wrote a piece decrying the lack of interest Americans are showing about our prolonged involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. While America continues to keep up a military capability that exceeds the combined total of all the world’s nations Hillary Clinton made a speech this week in which she stated that in today’s world, economic power is more important than military. And ironically, as America’s economic power is weakening we continue spending excessively on our military.
Just think how much we could grow our economic influence and presence in the world if we were spending the bulk of our military budget and collective nation building/war costs on furthering education, technical research, and economic development here at home. Instead, we are squandering our blood and treasure in other nations, while reducing the days American students attend school, weakening essential content of course offerings, seeing the cost of higher education go beyond the reach of many, and reducing the amounts of funding for basic scientific research and technological innovation.
America was once the unequaled master of technological development and innovation in the world. We invented the transistor, we invented the integrated chip, the computer, landed a man on the moon, invisioned Tang and Teflon was ours alone. But, while we are focused on bogus military entanglements the Chinas and Indias of the world are spending their money, including the earned interest from what they’ve loaned us to fight our wars, on making us a technological and industrial has been.
We could reestablish our position of scientific and technological leadership but not if we continue directing our energies and resources towards remaining entangled in protracted foreign wars and pumping hundreds of billions into a military that just isn’t justified in today’s reality. There is such a thing as being strong enough without having to be stronger than everyone else combined.
Hillary isn’t wrong on this one!
Link to reference story: Hillary Clinton Speech to Economic Club of New York a Brilliant Moment – The Daily Beast.
Just reinforces the theory that the United states will collapse from within as the Soviets and Romans did. Rome had high taxes, social programs, loved sporting events, and had a corrupt government. The Soviet Union focused on building their military and the government corruption was rampant. Sound familiar?
Amen, brother!