Government shutdown: Why can't we simply stop building F-35's? Where in the worl

1. 68

   ptosisposted 13 years ago

   Government shutdown: Why can't we simply stop building F-35's? Where in the world do we need these?
   
   The United States intends to buy a total of 2,443 aircraft for an estimated US$323 billion, making it the most expensive defense program ever. Yet the ways Gov't is trying to save money is to charge a penalty fee  on FAT people who are on Medicaid!
   
   

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2. 78

   junksellerposted 13 years ago

   Other countries have 5th generation fighter programs in the works. Until we ban war, we need to keep ahead of the game. Although, 2,443 of them seems to be a bit excessive.

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3. 79

   Wayne Brownposted 13 years ago

   The military like many commercial companies in the world must always plan for the future in terms of not only technology but also reliability, speed, and fatigue.  Aircraft under significant stresses in the process of flying and in the takeoff and landing cycles.  These include significant stresses on the wing roots, the fuselage, and the landing gear.  This is especially true of aircraft in military service which in many cases see far more harsh conditions that are met by passenger airliners.  Even a passenger plane flying commercial routes only has about a 20 year cycle of productivity before fatigue begins to marginalize the safety factors of the components.  Given these considerations, the military must always be in the phase of developing the next replacement and having it ready when the existing models do their normal phase out at the end of their service cycle. In most cases, these aircraft have also been surpassed technologically and will require far too much expense to update to present day standards even if you ignored the fatigue factor.  This also holds true for ships, aircraft carriers, submarines, tanks, and even the infantry rifle carried by our combat troops.  If we don't plan and prepare, we will not be ready when the time comes, and the time always comes. WB

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4. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 13 years ago

   The F-35 has been in development for over 20 years, which means we spent far more on the program than $323 Billion. Even if we needed F-35s, we simply cannot afford them. Needing them or not needing them is irrelevant at this point. The government is going bankrupt and no amount of cutting Social Security or cutting social programs for the poor will be enough to stop the deficit. The reason it won't matter is because the military accounts for too much of the federal budget. The military is what is bankrupting our government. It is a law of history that professional military forces are extremely expensive and can only be maintained by levying heavy taxes on the public. The US has a wartime economy yet it has no chance of being invaded ever by anyone. The air force is an extremely corrupt government agency--far more corrupt than the army or navy.

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   zduckmanposted 13 years ago

   I could not agree more. If we want to save $ we should start with the biggest expenditures....which is the military. We are in 2 1/2 illegal and unjust wars that are costing us billions, just so we can provide a safe haven for greedy corporations to extract resources.

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