Let’s talk about federal budgets! (Big Boy Toy edition)

I just wanted to put in my two cents on what I think should be first on the federal budget chopping block.  I think this nifty graph from The Economist puts our defense budget into perspective.

ON JUNE 8th China’s top military brass confirmed that the country’s first aircraft carrier, a refurbishment of an old Russian carrier, will be ready shortly. Only a handful of nations operate carriers, which are costly to build and maintain. Indeed, Britain has recently decommissioned its sole carrier because of budget pressures. China’s defence spending has risen by nearly 200% since 2001 to reach an estimated $119 billion in 2010—though it has remained fairly constant in terms of its share of GDP. America’s own budget crisis is prompting tough discussions about its defence spending, which, at nearly $700 billion, is bigger than that of the next 17 countries combined.

One has to ask why our defense spending “is bigger than that of the next 17 countries combined” while we basically share only two borders with countries that can hardly be considered hostile.  What’s the purpose of all this spending?

Just recently, US Defense Secretary Gates announced that the US would maintain a strong presence in Asia despite its budget problems.

Defense News reports that the U.S. military would expand presence in the area with a facility in the Indian Ocean shared with Australia.

The U.S. will also begin deploying new littoral combat ships (LCS) capable of operating in shallow coastal waters to the region to perform exercises and military maneuvers alongside others in Asia. The Singapore defense ministry has stated that the U.S. is looking at deploying one or two LCS’ in the area.

The U.S. is also getting supplies into position to speed response in the area if another natural disaster hits. The most recent disasters in Asia were the massive Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami. Gates also noted that he worries the region needs to establish “rules of the road” for solving conflicts over resources in the South China Sea peacefully if more than one nation lays claim to a resource.

Gates Said, “I fear that without rules of the road, without agreed approaches to deal with these problems, that there will be clashes. I think that serves nobody’s interests.”

Gates also stalked about future weapons that would be coming to the region to improve the ability to defend the area. One of the future weapons programs cited were drones. The Global Hawk is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that can fly a programmed path and refuel in air — it completed its first flight in 2010. Global Hawk can soar to 61,000 feet and stay on target for up to 30 hours. The first Global Hawk has now arrived at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Do we really need all these toys to protect us from asymmetrical threats like terrorists?  Just thought I’d put this out there for your consideration.