Poll Watch: Strong Support for Missile Defense by Americans Across the Political Spectrum
Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez
With Iran pressing ahead with its nuclear program and North Korea on Wednesday threatening more test-ï¬rings of intercontinental ballistic missiles, it’s little wonder that Americans across the board say it’s important that the U.S. get a missile defense system up and running as soon as possible. That was obvious from the latest IBD/TIPP Poll, which found Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, and 78% in between afï¬rming the importance of such a system. Yet President Obama has said he will “cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.”
The Poll:
Yet, President Obama, despite wide-spread support by Americans will be cutting the national missile defense program by $1.4 Billion this year.
Mr. President, in light of North Korea’s actions and most recent threats, re-evaluate your position on the national missile defense program. To make the budget cuts you are recommending is negligence in the highest order.
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Obama Dodges And Plays Word Games With America’s National Missile Defense
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Missile Defense
7 Comments
Brenda
One day the US is going to realise that having the biggest stick doesn’t make it the strongest or the safest. We have spent a disproportionate amount of money on defence. Some of that money now needs to strengthen our economy, education and health programs. The defence will still have an enormous budget more than capable of protecting us.
Flap
A disproportionate amount?
On national missile defense?
Since you are in the UK, can you please cite me some examples.
Brenda
Figures taken directly from the budget
53% – Defence Department
.04% -Education Department
6.1% -Health & Human Services
.09% -Social Security
In no way shape or form am I saying that the United States doesn’t need national missile defence. I’m just questioning the amount put toward the whole Defence Department in proportion to other departments. I think the people of the United States deserve more money invested in them with education and health benefits then trying to police the world.
Yes, at the moment I reside in the UK but I am still currently a tax paying United States citizen that has honourable served my country in the Armed Forces so I have a right to this opinion.
I’m not a lover of Obama and I’m not a “tree hugger” but I do believe the people of the United States deserve more.
Flap
Well, if you were from America which I continue to doubt, you would understand why education is not a federal government responsibility.
By the way, I would love to see some links for your budgetary figures above because social entitlements are a very large portion of the annual budget and GDP.
Flap
I found a link for you: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/tables.html
And look at this table: Table S–11. Current Services Baseline Summary by Category
(in billions of dollars)
Facts are a bit different from what you contend in #3 above, right?
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sirjames8
# Brenda said:
Figures taken directly from the budget
53% – Defence Department
.04% -Education Department
6.1% -Health & Human Services
.09% -Social Security
In no way shape or form am I saying that the United States doesn’t need national missile defence. I’m just questioning the amount put toward the whole Defence Department in proportion to other departments. I think the people of the United States deserve more money invested in them with education and health benefits then trying to police the world.
Yes, at the moment I reside in the UK but I am still currently a tax paying United States citizen that has honourable served my country in the Armed Forces so I have a right to this opinion.
I’m not a lover of Obama and I’m not a “tree hugger†but I do believe the people of the United States deserve more.
Brenda, take a look at the budget yourself, young one! NEVER quote something so easily checked without actually seeing it for yourself. then your lefty friends wouldn’t leave you out on a limb, by yourself.
The actual amounts are….Numbers in parentheses are % change over previous year
o $695 billion (+4.9%) – Social Security (bigger alone than D.O.D.’s 663.7 Billion)
o $453 billion (+6.6%) – Medicare
o $290 billion (+12.0%) – Medicaid
o $164 billion (+18.0%) – Interest on National Debt
o $663.7 billion (+12.7%) – Department of Defense (including Overseas Contingency Operations) Smaller than the three that should be under health and human services (H.H.S. +medicaid+medicare=)
o $78.7 billion (-1.7%) – Department of Health and Human Services
o $47.5 billion (+18.5%) – Department of Housing and Urban Development (probably should be included in HHS too)
o $46.7 billion (+12.8%) – Department of Education
o $13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of Labor
o $10.5 billion (+34.6%) – Environmental Protection Agency
o $9.7 billion (+10.2%) – Social Security Administration
o $7.0 billion (+1.4%) – National Science Foundation (after all the talk about helping the U.S. compete in a technological world, why only 1.4% increase?)
o $0.7 billion (0.0%) – Small Business Administration (Why with all the talk
about helping small businesses, no increase?)
SO,
663.7 B……………………………………………Defense
46.7 B………………………………………………Education
453 B+290 B+78.7 B=821.7 B………………..Health and Human Services (Medicare+Medicaid+HHS)
695B+9.7B=704.7……………………………….Social Security
easier to read on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_States_federal_budget#Total_spending
But also available (With a lot more searching and digesting) at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview/