tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post3651703757448711569..comments2024-03-06T06:34:42.881-05:00Comments on EconoSpeak: Trump Brags About Record Defense SpendingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-75289362227923187102019-12-27T14:15:59.161-05:002019-12-27T14:15:59.161-05:00PGL:
"Trump has so messed up our relationshi...PGL:<br /><br />"Trump has so messed up our relationships with our allies and so embolden nations like Russia we would need to be spending far more on our military just to police the screwed up world Trump's incompetence has left us."<br /><br />A serious strange statement; right from the Republican Cold war playbook.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-12206072320837100432019-12-25T18:16:33.214-05:002019-12-25T18:16:33.214-05:00"I'm not trying to justify bloated defens..."I'm not trying to justify bloated defense budgets, but you really can't annualize the 3rd quarter BEA numbers..."<br /><br />Please, this is just what the BEA does and I am reporting the data. They use the same format each quarter and have for decades. The lesson here is that defense spending will surely be above $841.6 billion i the coming 12 months, just as the administration and congress wish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-61229439523954523042019-12-23T12:23:04.123-05:002019-12-23T12:23:04.123-05:002slug - I thought about using the 2019 quarterly d...2slug - I thought about using the 2019 quarterly data from BEA but decided not to for reasons you articulate. Besides the Q4 reporting will come out soon. pglnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-31303438703500230962019-12-23T11:50:47.688-05:002019-12-23T11:50:47.688-05:00Anonymous,
Defense spending in the 3rd quarter was...Anonymous,<br /><i>Defense spending in the 3rd quarter was $841.6 billion annualized</i><br /><br />I'm not trying to justify bloated defense budgets, but you really can't annualize the 3rd quarter BEA numbers because those are also the 4th quarter fiscal numbers. There is almost always a big uptick in the last quarter of the fiscal year. Also, the BEA numbers actually reflect Treasury outlays against DoD accounts, which is not quite the same thing as "spending" in the ordinary sense of the term. When we buy something with a credit card we normally think of the spending happening when we actually make the purchase at the store (what DoD calls an "obligation"). What BEA actually records is when we would pay the credit car bill.2slugbaitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763897441056512506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-76110708190416868942019-12-23T09:06:55.692-05:002019-12-23T09:06:55.692-05:00Thanks for the post, which I learned from, even th...Thanks for the post, which I learned from, even though I complained.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-75741848104101414142019-12-23T09:06:14.222-05:002019-12-23T09:06:14.222-05:00President Trump is frightening to me, deeply frigh...President Trump is frightening to me, deeply frightening, but because of policy after policy that is now being differently administered, because of the many judges he has nominated and who are quickly being confirmed, and so on. I may have been too dismissive, but boasting about nominal military spending seems of little account and the last thing I think we need is even more military spending because real spending is not the highest ever.<br /><br />Trump makes up stuff all the time and boasts all the time, and I find the military spending boast disturbing because we are spending so much rather than too little.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-32958658208698476642019-12-23T08:35:18.289-05:002019-12-23T08:35:18.289-05:00"This may be the height of economic history s..."This may be the height of economic history since the dawn of time!"<br /><br />Please explain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-48717784771888467432019-12-23T08:34:18.005-05:002019-12-23T08:34:18.005-05:00"Trump has so messed up our relationships wit..."Trump has so messed up our relationships with our allies and so embolden nations like Russia we would need to be spending far more on our military just to police the screwed up world Trump's incompetence has left us."<br /><br />Then the point I missed is that we need to be spending more on the military because after all these years of necessary world policing we have not been spending enough to have properly done the job if say the French are now annoyed with us. Seriously, I do not understand.<br /><br />As for emboldening nations like Russia, please explain what this means.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-70912304501118779482019-12-22T17:56:05.855-05:002019-12-22T17:56:05.855-05:00This Anonymous is impressed by a BIG NOMINAL numbe...This Anonymous is impressed by a BIG NOMINAL number? OK! But think about it this way - Trump has so messed up our relationships with our allies and so embolden nations like Russia we would need to be spending far more on our military just to police the screwed up world Trump's incompetence has left us. This may be the height of economic history since the dawn of time! pglnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-69354765633618944372019-12-22T17:49:04.821-05:002019-12-22T17:49:04.821-05:00Well, since sometime during WW II the US has been ...Well, since sometime during WW II the US has been by far the largest spender on military. Just how far ahead we have been at any time has varied, but nobody has been close to us since we took that lead.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-33015503060672924992019-12-22T17:08:07.607-05:002019-12-22T17:08:07.607-05:00This is so much nonsense.
Defense spending is now...This is so much nonsense.<br /><br />Defense spending is now the highest it has ever been and no soldier or ordinary person will think differently by looking at real spending in the BEA accounts. Defense spending in the 3rd quarter was $841.6 billion annualized, and spending will be increasing now. The vast nominal number should impress any person.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-13889313671023394292019-12-21T17:11:14.226-05:002019-12-21T17:11:14.226-05:00I thought one of the arguments for an independent ...I thought one of the arguments for an independent SPACE FORCE was that it would save money relative to putting it under one of the existing services. So why does DoD need more money for it? And the SOUTHERN BORDER WALL will hurt enlistments, so that should reduce personnel costs. And then there's the repeal of the Cadillac tax, which, true to form, will hurt Trump's downscale voters because it will increase the cost of healthcare. 2slugbaitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763897441056512506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-62530725527025277982019-12-21T16:41:34.257-05:002019-12-21T16:41:34.257-05:00Probably more important than the nonminal/real dis...Probably more important than the nonminal/real distinction is the percent of GDP. As it is, the current level of defensse spending is something in the 3-4 percent range of GDP. It has been far higher than that previously, indeed for extended periods of time during the Cold War, not to mention the far percentages during WW II.<br /><br />Not that I am keen on returning to such levels.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.com