Neil Young wrote the song Keep on Rockin in the Free World in 1989. It is an angry song and I believe its lyrics are more relevant today. Neil and a member of his band, Pancho Sampedro, were glancing at newspaper photographs of the funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran as the angry mob set American flags on fire and chanted death to America. These Iranians thought America was the great Satan. Sampedro commented, "Whatever we do, we shouldn't go near the Mideast. It's probably better we just keep on rockin' in the free world." I wish we had made this guy our Secretary of State.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George Bush decided it was America's responsibility to protect Saudi Arabia's oil fields and liberate Kuwait from the clutches of the dictator we had previously supported. The American military crushed Sadaam Hussein's Republican Guard and liberated Kuwait. After the Gulf War, the U.S. left 4,000 American troops in Saudi Arabia, eventually growing to 7,000 troops. These troops became a rallying point for Muslim fundamentalists, who charged the U.S. was trying to increase its influence over the Saudi royal family and the nation's oil reserves. "The presence of the U.S. forces gave a lot of fuel to the virulent, anti-American Islamic forces that certainly commanded an audience in Saudi, and in the broader Arab world," said Jamil Khoury, an Arab specialist and business consultant who teaches at the University of Chicago.
The U.S. has spent $7 trillion on Defense since 1991. Most of these funds were used to develop offensive weapons, not defensive weapons. The Heritage Foundation will argue that military spending as a percentage of GDP was only 4% in 2007, well below the 45 year average of 5.5%. This period includes the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War. The 2010 budget spending will increase it to at least 5.6% of GDP.
The real question isn't what percentage of GDP is proper it is whether $7 trillion could have been spent more intelligently. Would $4 trillion have been sufficient to defend the country? The military launched approximately 1,000 cruise missiles during the Iraq War at a cost of $1 million per missile. This was a choice to spend $1 billion blowing up bridges, water plants, and electrical facilities in Iraq rather than spending it repairing our 156,000 structurally deficient bridges, replacing our decaying water pipes, and upgrading our electrical grid. Would the $7 trillion have been better spent by private individuals? Could it have been better spent jump starting efforts to wean ourselves off Middle East oil? I don't know the answer. But, I do know that the vast majority of the $7 trillion was borrowed from China, Japan and my grandchildren.
Kinder, Gentler, Machine Gun Hand
We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler,
Machine gun hand
We got department stores
and toilet paper
Got styrofoam boxes
for the ozone layer
Got a man of the people,
says keep hope alive
Got fuel to burn,
got roads to drive.
Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world.
Neil Young -Rockin in the Free World
Neil Young's cynical view of our President, national priorities, and future was well founded. He saw the social fabric of the country ripping apart in 1989. I believe everyone has a right to live their lives as they see fit. This is America, land of the free, home of the brave. When powerful government bureaucrats choose to subsidize the conscious blunders of others through the utilization of my tax dollars, I've got a big problem.
There are approximately 308 million people living in the United States -- 75 million of these people are under 18 years old and 40 million are over 65 years old. They are generally off the hook regarding the current financial crisis. That leaves 195 million people. The 80 million Baby Boomers (the pig in the python) are at the root of most problems in our society today. As I walked from the parking garage to my office the other day I noticed a license plate on a parked BMW 335i. It read 335-4-NOW. This boomers goal in life was to move up from a $40,000 automobile to a $60,000 automobile. Very noble goal, but it reflects that the priorities for many in this country have become warped.
Approximately 12% of the U.S population (36 million people) is considered poor and are totally dependent upon the State to keep from starving. The working class makes up 40% of the population, the middle class 45%, and the ruling elite class 3%. All of these classes made dreadful mistakes in the last decade. The poor pretended to be middle class. They were able to buy $200,000 houses, lease $30,000 cars, own cell phones, get monthly cable, and eat out three times per week. Their friendly neighborhood banker loaned them the money to live this fantasy life. The working and middle class were able to buy $700,000 McMansions, go on trips to Europe, lease $50,000 cars and generally live the life of the rich and famous. A different banker in a nicer neighborhood also loaned them the money to live like rock stars. A portion of all these classes were the extremists that led us down the erroneous path to destruction..
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