Obama is about to ask for the largest Pentagon budget in history

[Chef Ramsay]

On Tuesday, news broke that the President is planning to request the largest Pentagon budget in history.

You read that right. President Obama will likely ask for a $534 billion base budget, in a move that’s being sold as part of a strategy to beef up responsiveness to emerging worldwide threats and fund efforts against ISIS and others.

This plan will blow past budget caps to the tune of $34 billion in 2016 and $150 billion over the next five years.

Many in the new Congress, it’s sad to say, are eager to both hike overseas spending and ignore budget controls, with some Republican leaders saying they’ll do anything they can to “fix” sequestration.

The argument that more money – and fast! – is what’s needed to keep us safe is dishonest at best.

For one, when it comes to wars, the money’s already there. It’s in the Overseas Contingency Operations budget. This money is immune to budget caps, and is often used as a slush fund to spend beyond them. OCO got an additional $64 billion in the latest “CRomnibus” budget deal, and now President Obama is set to request about $60 billion more.

It’s hard to imagine that the fund has dried up, or that it needs the extra billions the President wants. Meanwhile, the suggestion that even more base funds are needed to keep us safe is dubious and should be questioned.

This assumption misses a key part of keeping America truly safe: Reforms, streamlining, and a real modernization strategy. Simply piling on more money allows the Pentagon bureaucracy to avoid any tough choices.

As retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer said in 2013, “We need an effective defense, not an expensive defense. There are tons of cuts we can still make.”

He’s right. Any honest assessment of the Pentagon reveals that it, like any other government agency, is absolutely loaded with waste, fraud, and abuse. Whether we’re talking about over $1 trillion for a jet that barely works or hundreds of millions in excess military-grade equipment controversially gifted to local police forces, it’s clear that there’s no reason to treat this particular bureaucracy with kid gloves.

That’s exactly what the President and likely many Republicans in Congress want to continue doing, though.

More...http://rare.us/story/obama-is-about-to-ask-for-the-largest-pentagon-budget-in-history/

The only politician calling for an audit of the Pentagon and focusing expenditures only on defending the nation is Sen. Paul.

[BitMos]

my wish list (will be reused don't worry, or recycled)

100 - b1-r.
400 - f22.
as much as possible lbw, on everything.
as much as possible drones of all sorts.
more for the swp.
and much more for what's unknown.

1 to preserve and defend the aggressiveness gaps with Russia and then... ,  ,   &who knows... but for example barbarian countries that support killing people for trading plant derivatives (natural product of the creation and the work of man), will have difficulties to adjust to the concepts of the Empire of Love. As such if they have to fall prey on the claws of the Empire, I prefer to be in absolute asymmetrical positions, where their own chances of survival are as slim as of those of the plant lives they threaten, in case they chose to become violent with personals of the Empire. In all space, in all time, always. I believe, they have already chosen.

The Swarm always aims for Peace, Prosperity, Harmony and Love for each including the excluded by subhumans, plants of the creation, you don't have a right to forbid a plant born before man to live, on spaceship Earth. Following the clear fact that some chose to stay in ignorance and violence, The Swarm has no choice but to defend itself against those that want to hurt The Swarm, what is sad is that those opposing The Swarm, will in fact face the swarms, and the Individuals of The Swarm, and have by their nature no chance but to be merged with The Swarm (Dead or Alive), as all swarms and Individuals have been, because The Swarm is about freedom, the pursuit of happiness and the respect of the propriety and time of others.

Don't stand in the path of The Swarm, surrender and join, or die.

EX101: It'ain't never enough , until one day. day 0.

[Agestorzrxx]

When is this preposterous waste of tax dollars and blowing up the national debt to astronomical levels going to stop?

[TheButterZone]

Nobel War Prize earned.

[seen369]

Why do we the people allow this? Are we really that lazy that we can't revolt against this.
All around the world people stand-up and remove their elected officials, with the help of the US of course.

[caga]

I think the ISIS demanding money for the Japanese hostages might have a role to play in this request being made.

[ajareselde]

Why do we the people allow this? Are we really that lazy that we can't revolt against this.
All around the world people stand-up and remove their elected officials, with the help of the US of course.

every medal has two sides.. i come from a country where we removed elected officials for being corrupted, useless etc ,
naturaly, new ones to replace old ones promissed alot of changes, but nothing happened, actualy its way worse now.

for real change to happen , you need alot of people that cant be bought, and thats more rare today than platinum.

[Chef Ramsay]

Obama seeks to add to estate tax

The Obama budget calls for a stealth increase in the death tax rate from 40% to nearly 60%. Here's how it works:

Under current law, when you inherit an asset your basis in the asset is the higher of the fair market value at the time of death or the decedent's original basis. Almost always, the fair market value is higher.

Under the Obama proposal, when you inherit an asset your basis will simply be the decedent's original basis.

Example: Dad buys a house for $10,000.  He dies and leaves it to you. The fair market value on the date of death is $100,000. You sell it for $120,000. Under current law, you have a capital gain of $20,000 (sales price of $120,000 less step up in basis of $100,000). Under the Obama plan, you have a capital gain of $110,000 (sales price of $120,000 less original basis of $10,000).

There are exemptions for most households, but this misses the larger point: the whole reason we have step up in basis is because we have a death tax. If you are going to hold an estate liable for tax, you can't then hold the estate liable for tax again when the inheritor sells it. This adds yet another redundant layer of tax on savings and investment. It's a huge tax hike on family farms and small businesses. 

It's like a second death tax (the first one has a top tax rate of 40% and a standard deduction of $5.3 million/$10.6 million for surviving spouses). Conceivably, an accumulated capital gain could face a 40% death tax levy and then a 28% capital gains tax on what is left. Do the math, and that's an integrated federal tax of just under 60% on inherited capital gains.

"The national death tax dates to World War I. Most states have abolished their state death tax. They know the death tax is simply yet another layer of taxation on the life savings of Americans," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "Heck, Sweden abolished its death tax a decade ago. The world has learned from failure and moved on. Obama thinks he is being left-wing.  He is just showing his age."

http://www.atr.org/obama-budget-creates-second-death-tax

[thejaytiesto]

I think the ISIS demanding money for the Japanese hostages might have a role to play in this request being made.

You need to lay off that tinfoil hait for a while boy.

[username18333]

Why do [“We the People” (United States)] allow this? Are we really [so] lazy that we can't [even] revolt against this[‽]
All around the world people stand-up and remove their elected officials, with the help of the US of course.

Merely request the annulment of this budget before its passage.