Is America a third world country?

[gruntlabor]

I hear you. One can become accustomed to a certain mindset. One of the delimmas in the US is that freedom comes with a threat from those that would use such freedoms for ill-gotten gains.

You are mistaken. Ill-gotten gains are not legal in the US.

 

[Been There]

As to having the very best equipment, may I suggest you do a Google search concerning where the government is sourcing $900 million to convert the Qatari 747 into an additional Air Force One? I dare not say more to prevent violating the ban on political posts.

I was under the impression that Qatari was donating a 747 to the U.S. and from there, the U.S. taxpayer would pay for refurbishing the interior and equipping it as necessary.

 

[papa tiger]

I was reading a $600 Billion fail and resignations likely soon.

 

[Been There]

One would certainly hope so. The U.S. military budget stands at roughly $900 billion annually. When you divide that by the 153 million tax returns filed in 2022, it amounts to approximately $5,882 per taxpayer. The figure might shift slightly depending on how many returns represent joint filings, but the takeaway remains clear: American taxpayers shoulder a substantial financial burden to fund our military.

I guess if we divided the military budget among each taxpayer the number you stated would be correct. However, budget items are not equally divided among each taxpayer. Some taxpayers pay tens of thousands of dollars in tax while others pay very little. The budget deficit runs about $2 trillion. If we had to run the country using only the money the treasury collects, a lot of our programs would suffer.

The average cost of an F-35 is around $100 million. The lower price of the plane, which is the F-35A is around $85 million, while the cost of
an F35 B is around $105 million. I know some of these very expensive planes have had failed takeoffs from carriers and ended up in the drink, or ocean. The Navy makes every effort to recover any plane that goes into the ocean to keep our advanced technology out of foreign hands.

 

[againstthegrain]

I was under the impression that Qatari was donating a 747 to the U.S. and from there, the U.S. taxpayer would pay for refurbishing the interior and equipping it as necessary.

The refurbishment is coming right out of the Defense budget.

 

[Rich]

I guess if we divided the military budget among each taxpayer the number you stated would be correct. However, budget items are not equally divided among each taxpayer. Some taxpayers pay tens of thousands of dollars in tax while others pay very little. The budget deficit runs about $2 trillion. If we had to run the country using only the money the treasury collects, a lot of our programs would suffer.

Agreed, the number I showed would be an average. Some will pay more, some will pay less.
As to the $2 trillion deficit, how long do you think we can continue to borrow $2 trillion per year before we can no longer afford to pay the interest on the (currently $37 trillion dollar) debt? That sort of deficit doesn't seem compatible with a long term economic strategy.
Your contention that "if we had to run the country using only the money the treasury collects, a lot of programs would suffer" seems to me to be spot on. We would also have low to no inflation, and a much stronger dollar.

 

[Been There]

Agreed, the number I showed would be an average. Some will pay more, some will pay less.
As to the $2 trillion deficit, how long do you think we can continue to borrow $2 trillion per year before we can no longer afford to pay the interest on the (currently $37 trillion dollar) debt? That sort of deficit doesn't seem compatible with a long term economic strategy.
Your contention that "if we had to run the country using only the money the treasury collects, a lot of programs would suffer" seems to me to be spot on. We would also have low to no inflation, and a much stronger dollar.

If we are adding $2 trillion a year to the debt because we spend that much more than we take in from tax revenue that means when the president leaves office, the debt will rise by another $8 trillion to the debt? And the same for each succeeding president.

Congress knows the government must make the interest payment each month, which is somewhere between $80-90 billion.

 

[Rich]

If we are adding $2 trillion a year to the debt because we spend that much more than we take in from tax revenue that means when the president leaves office, the debt will rise by another $8 trillion to the debt? And the same for each succeeding president.

Congress knows the government must make the interest payment each month, which is somewhere between $80-90 billion.

Exactly... not a sustainable financial plan.

 

[OldOld]

Exactly... not a sustainable financial plan.

Those politicians don't care.

 

[VaughanJB]

You are mistaken. Ill-gotten gains are not legal in the US.

I assume you say so in jest.

 

[hollydolly]

 

[hollydolly]

 

[gruntlabor]

I assume you say so in jest.

This is a political thread, started by a zealot tossing out a provocative question designed to call forth America haters. It was a huge success as it always is.
But America, as is true the world over, is overflowing with good people, I mean common productive people.
Moral corruption and depravity are fast overcoming us all, not just misguided Americans. Presently we have zero control over the ambitions of the elite and those who govern.

 

[Warrigal]

This is a political thread, started by a zealot tossing out a provocative question designed to call forth America haters. It was a huge success as it always is.
But America, as is true the world over, is overflowing with good people, I mean common productive people.
Moral corruption and depravity are fast overcoming us all, not just misguided Americans. Presently we have zero control over the ambitions of the elite and those who govern.

I'm glad that you are recognising that the vast majority of people, poor and rich alike, are basically good hearted. That is not to say that they do not carry within them the seeds of avarice and violence.

I try to remember the saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." If I had been born into a different family and had not the opportunities that I had as a young person growing up, I might have been tempted to steal from and possibly assault somebody. I might have taken illicit drugs to escape the realities of my life.

Poverty is hard.

What was that other saying about walking a mile in someone else's moccasins?

 

[gruntlabor]

I'm glad that you are recognising that the vast majority of people, poor and rich alike, are basically good hearted. That is not to say that they do not carry within them the seeds of avarice and violence.

I try to remember the saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." If I had been born into a different family and had not the opportunities that I had as a young person growing up, I might have been tempted to steal from and possibly assault somebody. I might have taken illicit drugs to escape the realities of my life.

Poverty is hard.

What was that other saying about walking a mile in someone else's moccasins?

Poverty is hard, but there is peace in death. Good people do not enter gates not their own with nefarious intentions.