Levin on the F-22: ‘If Not Now, When?’

[babylonsister]

http://washingtonindependent.com/52009/levin-on-the-f-22-if-not-now-when

Levin on the F-22: ‘If Not Now, When?’
By Spencer Ackerman 7/21/09 3:03 PM


Here’s Sen. Carl Levin’s (D-Mich.) statement on today’s passage of his amendment to strip F-22 funding from the defense authorization:

Today’s vote is a significant victory for our men and women in uniform, for the taxpayers and for reforming the way we do business in Washington. The Senate faced a simple question today: If not now, when? When would we end a weapons program, if not now, with the civilian and uniformed leadership of the Pentagon asking us to do so? Many members are concerned about the job losses that will result in this decision. Believe me, I know firsthand the pain such job losses can bring. But we need to invest in weapons systems that are needed. That members of both parties voted to end this program is an important step toward reforming our defense budget.

Good for Levin for confronting the jobs issue head-on.

[Union Yes]

1. I hope this amendment stands. It's a great start.

In the direction of disarmament and the reduction of our war machine.

[sharp_stick]

2. I love the mindset

that we should continue to fund a white elephant defense program simply because we need to keep the jobs. Is anybody else sick to fucking death of the defense industry whining about this? Maybe if they actually built something to spec at a price that remotely resembled what they promised I would give them a bit of credit but it's patently obvious that these assholes do nothing but line their own pockets.

The F22, SDI and the recently killed crusader artillery systems are just three of the hundreds of programs that have no meaningful place in the military.

[gratuitous]

3. I don't care about investing in weapons systems

Why don't we use a bit of that overbloated defense budget to invest in America, its people and infrastructure? Once a missile rolls off the assembly line, it's done. It goes into a silo somewhere until it rusts. When a road is built or repaired, when teachers are hired, when federal money goes into communities, the salaries and benefits are spent in those communities, ancillary businesses start up or keep going, and the benefits of the dollars spent spread throughout a community, helping it to thrive.