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Obama would spend up big on weapons, and Romney, even bigger

 a Romney administration would fork out roughly $800 billion toward national defense in 2016 — a notably higher amount than the trimmed-down $578 billion proposed by the Obama administration.

Is Pentagon spending good for the economy? By Guy Taylor-The Washington Times , August 5, 2012 In a time of deep deficits and tight budgets, President Obama says theDefense Department cannot be entirely spared the scalpel. But Mitt Romney, his likely opponent in November’s election, says the U.S. must spend more on the Pentagon now because it will pay off with a stronger economy in the long run.

Analysts said the differences stem from a deep philosophical divide. One camp, bolstered by military officers who say the debt is a major national security issue, argues that slowing spending now will create a stronger America in the future.

But Mr. Romney’s side argues that the U.S. can’t foster the kind of stability that is needed around the world without maintaining a powerful and well-funded military in the near term, said Jim Talent, a former Republican senator from Missouri who once served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and is a special adviser to the campaign.

It’s the classic “peace through strength” philosophy,….

Based on the White House Office of Management and Budget’s GDP projections, a Romney administration would fork out roughly $800 billion toward national defense in 2016 — a notably higher amount than the trimmed-down $578 billion proposed by the Obama administration.

Different as they may be, both figures represent a doubling of whatCongress allowed during the years before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Some have asserted that neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. Romney has a real plan for reining in runaway defense spending.

“Obama will spend a lot; Romney will spend more. That’s the difference,” said Winslow T. Wheeler, an analyst at the liberal Center for Defense Information, who worked on national security issues for 31 years for members of the Senate from the end of the Vietnam era through the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001…….

“What Obama has done is reduce the projected growth in defense spending. It’s not actually a cut,” said Larry Korb, who was an assistant secretary of defense under President Reagan. “Let’s say you’re making $50,000 a year, and I tell you that in 10 years, your salary will be $100,000, but the economy is in a downturn, so actually I’m only going to give you $80,000 in 10 years.”

“Compared to what Eisenhower did after Korea, or Nixon did after Vietnam, or if you look at Reagan’s second term when we cut defense by 10 percent in four years, the Obama $486 billion is not that big of a cut,” he said. “It’s 8 percent over 10 years.”

The irony, said Mr. Korb, now a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, is that “apart from the first Reagan administration, the Pentagon has historically made out better under Democrats than Republicans in terms of money.”

“And the problem with Romney saying he’s going to increase defense spending,” said Mr. Korb, “is how is he going to do that while also dealing with the deficit?” http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/5/is-pentagon-spending-good-for-the-economy/?page=all#pagebreak

August 6, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war