Looking Backwards and Forwards

Lawrence Korb etal have tried a somewhat different tack in arguing for cuts in our defense spending. They look at how previous presidents have managed to trim the defense budget despite being in as difficult circumstances as Obama is now in.

First, they remind us that the defense budget is now at the same level (in inflation-adjusted dollars) as it was in WWII when we had an army of 12,000,000 and were fighting on three continents. It is now more than our budgets during the Cold War, about $250 billion more annually.

Korb & Co.'s proposal is modest in that it seeks to bring the proposed budget down by $100 billion so that it is at the same level as under Reagan, the Cold Warrior. It would require $250 - $300 billion to bring the budget to the level under Eisenhower.

Here is their proposal to cut the budget by $133 billion through 2015:

•  Roll back post-September 11 efforts to grow the ground forces and reduce the number of civilian DOD personnel concomitant with the reduction in military end strength ($39.16 billion through 2015).
•  Reduce active-duty troops in Europe and Asia by one-third ($42.5 billion through 2015).
•  Cancel the V-22 Osprey program ($9.15 billion through 2015).
•  Reform military health care ($42 billion through 2015).
•  Limit procurement of the Virginia-class submarine and DDG-51 destroyer to one per year, and limit procurement of the littoral combat ship to two vessels per year ($20.04 billion through 2015).
•  Cut procurement of the Navy and Marine F-35 Joint Strike Fighter variants ($16.43 billion through 2015).
•  Institute an across-the-board reduction in research, development, test, and evaluation funding ($40 billion through 2015).
•  Reform the military pay system as the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation recommends ($13.75 billion through 2015).
•  Cancel procurement of the CVN-80 aircraft carrier and retire two existing carrier battle groups and associated air wings ($7.74 billion).
•  Cut the U.S. nuclear arsenal to 311 operationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons ($33.72 billion).

 We are spending too much on defense. We must smarten up.