The days of "austerity" are over -- gone bye-bye -- as former belt-tightening Republicans scribble their signatures on checks made out to the defense industry. That's your money and mine they're lavishing on their campaign contributors.
Rather than on our roads, schools, and our financial security.
For voters promised a leaner federal budget, certain areas, such as food stamps, are already in the crosshairs of legislators. But for the nation’s cyberspying companies and military contractors, “some measure of relief,” is on the way.
That’s how George Pedersen, the chief executive of ManTech International Corp., a defense contractor that works closely with the National Security Agency, described the expected boost in military spending during a call with investors last week.
Pedersen, explaining that the days of defense cuts are “behind us,” credited the shift with the change in control of Congress. “We do not know how the new Republican Congress will work with the president and the new secretary of defense,” he noted. But Pedersen predicted that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the new chairs of the Armed Services committees, will move “forward an expanded defense budget.” ...Intercept
How about them "useless tanks" funds, folks? Full-speed ahead into the red!
Among the sweetheart, earmark-like items in the package was $120 million more for the M-1 Abrams tank program. Military planners have asked time and time again for Congress to stop funding Abrams tanks, which are outdated for most modern warfare and have repeatedly been destroyed by improvised explosive devices. In a symbolic display of government waste, over 2,000 of these tanks are now stored in the California desert, where they remain unused and unwanted. For the Obama administration and Republican leaders to get along, expect the purchase of more wasteful scraps of metal like these. ...Intercept