THIS BLOG IS MY BLOG. THIS BLOG IS MY BLOG. Welcome to the Home of Hyperopia.: October 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Continuity, Thy Name is Obama - Part 4

In May 2009, President Obama sent his first proposed defense budget to the U.S. Congress. Reports on what was in it varied, and there is spin (naturally) all over the web on the topic. My conclusions?

For fiscal year 2010:
  • For spending that is apparently general Defense (sic) department funding [1], Obama requested four percent (4%) more money than President Bush requested for fiscal year 2009.
  • In the aggregate, Obama requested one and a half percent (1.5%) more money than President Bush requested for fiscal year 2009. [2]
In other words, now Nobel laureate President Obama requested MORE money for the U.S. military empire and for fighting wars around the world than former president George W. Bush (who was widely (and properly, in my opinion) criticized for all his warmongering).



(I know this report is belated, but I do think it's highly relevant inasmuch as Obama has since been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.)


[1] This DoD press release calls it "discretionary budget authority to fund base defense programs" (so who can say what that really means).

[2] This article is my source for the 1.5% increase.