Panetta: DOD cuts could up jobless rate by 1 point

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Associated Press

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Congress on Thursday that if lawmakers fail to agree on debt-ceiling talks and trigger $1 trillion in Pentagon budget cuts, they could add 1 percentage point to the nation's jobless rate.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said Thursday that Panetta has relayed those numbers to lawmakers in person and in calls this week, urging Congress to avoid the deadlock that would require the sweeping cuts.

Under the current deficit-reduction plan, the Pentagon must slash more than $400 billion in defense spending over the next decade. In addition, a newly created deficit-cutting supercommittee has until Nov. 23 to reach a consensus on budget cuts. If the committee members can't agree, or if Congress rejects its plan, automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion would hit the government accounts, with half coming from defense spending.

The trillion dollar total, Little said, would be devastating for the military, forcing spending reductions that likely would necessitate shrinking the size of the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps to the smallest numbers in decades and also lead to the smallest Navy in nearly 100 years.

Read more: http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/U/US_PENTAGON_JOB_CUTS?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-15-21-33-17

[tblue]

1. One-party government.

It stinks.

[msongs]

2. Panetta = military + war profiteers' bitch. purge the officer corps(s) first Leon ntnt

[MADem]

29. You go to where the assets are. That's where you cut/trim.

The bulk of the assets are enlisted. That said, the cuts in past drawdowns have been quite democratic. The officers take it just as bad as the enlisted, and it's at every paygrade, too.

[Proud Public Servant]

3. Don't jump on Panetta

Give him credit for saying what Obama should be saying: cuts in the Federal work force will raise unemployment numbers. As a Federal worker, I'm still waiting for someone in government (outside the military) to make this completely obvious point.

[MADem]

30. My first encounter with Leon Panetta involved a discussion about military drawdowns

At the time, he was a CA congressman, and the Cheney-Bush-Clinton drawdown was still a good few years away.

He very accurately predicted how the drawdown would proceed, and the results that would come from it.

He's one of the smartest guys I have ever met.

[blm]

4. Forced cuts in education by GOP in North Carolina budget upped jobless rate here.

.

[Metta]

5. Good old saber rattling from someone who continues the Saddam/911 lies.

He deserves to be fired for that alone.

[Blasphemer]

6. I am really tired of this debate being dominated by cuts. Raise taxes on the wealthy.... nt

[Vincardog]

7. The fact is cuts lead to job loss. We can never cut our way to prosperity. Quit the RW BS

[Arctic Dave]

8. That 1% isn't producing shit anyways.

Why don't they "retrain" themselves for something useful.


Peanutta can go fuck himself again.

[former9thward]

10. They won't need to retrain.

Most will be snapped up by employers replacing others with less workforce skills. Those who are now employed are the 1% Panetta is referring to.

[Arctic Dave]

15. Hardly, most military are one trick ponies.

They have little skills outside of the daily life of the military. That's why they go into similar MIC jobs if they leave.

[former9thward]

16. Spoken by someone who obviously who has never been an employer.

It matters not what a person did in the military. They learn discipline, getting things done on time, being to work on time, how to operate under supervision and a hundred other things needed to do and keep a job. If you think these come naturally talk to any employer -- public or private -- large or small. They don't.

[Arctic Dave]

20. I had several people work for me.

Being in the military never was better or worse then the next person. A fuck is a fuck up wether they were in the military or not. Yes, it's hard to believe there were dumb fucks in the military, but I met plenty when I was in, I'm sure it hasn't changed much.

[Igel]

24. Some of the best coworkers I've ever had were military.

Some of the best teachers, too. Not always the smartest, but certainly disciplined, hardworking, and able to keep their classes in line. In the end you don't need to have a MA in mathematics to teach Algebra I.

[totodeinhere]

21. They are paying taxes aren't they? And if they are employed they are not costing

the government money by using benefits such as Medicaid and unemployment insurance.

[Arctic Dave]

23. The cost we are throwing away to military can go to building something of use

not just useless shit that destroys things. It would be a twofer, those poeople would pay the same as the MIC and we would have something to show for it except dead people on the five o'clock news.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. No, no, no. Doesn't he understand we must reduce the debt and cut taxes to increase job

creation. Cuts will stimulate the job creators, not cost more jobs.

[on point]

11. but shifting that spending elsewhere could help world and increase jobs 2%

The US war budget should be SLASHED by at least 400 billion annual just to return it to what it was before Bush the Liar started ramping it up.

Unlike war spending, which except for some R&D, has no social benefit or long term investment pay-off, shifting this money would increase benefit to society and produce MORE jobs as well as increase long term investment return.

[InkAddict]

12. Meh - As a newly Certified Office Slug with seniority,

I welcome the new trainees who thought they were exempt from scouring on-line job search engines for wages that are a fraction of their previous salaries and for what they formerly thought were excellent "skills," "certificates of educational success," and "long-time bidness experience in mission statement modeling."

Perhaps it could work out like volleyball - ROTATE!

[Roy Rolling]

13. DOD sucks out of the economy

Taking that money and spending it elsewhere in the economy will create more jobs than those lost. Excessive military capability is a parasite, not a productive thing.

The irony is that cutting teachers to save money is okay because they are union members, but cutting professional killing companies like mercenaries and war profiteers is labeled a "job-killer".

How about retrainting all the bomb-makers to manufacture alternative entergy or something that benefits humanity instead of just killing humans with their weapons?

[Owl]

22. I totally agree with your post and that of "on point", post #11.

The talent and money wasted on "defense"/offense needs to be redirected to projects beneficial to society as a whole, not death and destruction crap.

Our economy and future is being consumed (and destroyed) by the MIC as it exists today.

[greiner3]

14. "they could add 1 percentage point to the nation's jobless rate."

That's what the Republicans have been after all along.

[KamaAina]

17. I'll bet the non-defense cuts would raise it more than that

:boring:

[sudopod]

18. HAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

ha!

[TheDebbieDee]

19. The whole point of the "Green Jobs Initiative" that Pres O ran on

was to stand up a US manufacturing industry based on the production of solar panels and hand-cranked flashlights, wind turbines, etc. This industry was to compete with China while creating enough US jobs for displaced defense industry workers as well as other manufacturing industry workers.

But the phucking republicans completely killed the Green Jobs Initiative while whittling the Stimulus Package down to a fraction of what was needed to do the economy any good.........

Honestly, an economics class should be mandatory in US high schools, right along with civics classes!

[coalition_unwilling]

25. Thereby proving that the war pigs have been operating the

biggest Keynesian program in the history of man. Too bad all those war pig $$$ don't produce anything people can actually use to improve their living conditions.

Cutting the friggin defense budget would be the sole silver lining to come from the deficit commission's failure to agree on cuts to discretionary spending.

[Angry Dragon]

26. Any personnel cuts would just bring the National Guard home

they would get their jobs back and put others out of work
It seems a lot of people have forgotten how many National Guard
are serving as front line troops now.

[DCBob]

27. probably the best outcome from this debt cutting fiasco.

not the job cuts but shrinking the Military Industrial Complex.

[MADem]

28. He's right. The first cuts--to personnel costs--are the deepest.

I wouldn't want to be on the management end of this next drawdown. It is an ugly, difficult angst-producing process. Very painful.