Americans Have Spent Enough Money On A Broken Plane To Buy Every Homeless Person A Mansion

a reply to: TXRabbit

Thank you for your contribution TXRabbit!

There are many avenues we could go down in the spending of all those Billions upon Billions of dollars. Much of which would cause quite the stir for economy, morale, cooperation, and innovation of all kinds.

Our collective innovation would be something to marvel at. Humanity can thrive when we overcome our fear and focus upon creativity.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: TXRabbit

Read the post, it's answered.

Thank for the direction but I respectfully think you might have missed the point I was trying to make (or perhaps I wasn't clear enough to begin with... a common problem with my prose)

I agree with the article that funding programs for non-military and pro-humanitarian facilities isn't solvent. My direction was more towards funding the spurning of civilian tech. Things to help push the limits of information, data and driven advances that benefit society - whether it be of a humanitarian, cultural, economic or civilian focus.

originally posted by: TXRabbit

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: TXRabbit

Read the post, it's answered.

Thank for the direction but I respectfully think you might have missed the point I was trying to make (or perhaps I wasn't clear enough to begin with... a common problem with my prose)

I agree with the article that funding programs for non-military and pro-humanitarian facilities isn't solvent. My direction was more towards funding the spurning of civilian tech. Things to help push the limits of information, data and driven advances that benefit society - whether it be of a humanitarian, cultural, economic or civilian focus.

The problem is then Enemies A, B, and C steal the tech you paid for and use it to create weapon platforms you don't have. It would be like directly funding your enemies military.

The subject of this thread covers many aspects of very similar thoughts I had as a young person, before I understood how difficult it is to accurately track a buck through the "system".

The banking industry itself makes tracking funds / resources very difficult by the very nature of it, and then because of the convoluted nature of it (it really isn't so complicated) it is difficult to report debits and credits on the ledger
sheet, let alone read it....

The system itself is designed to be abused by the very industries , corporations and governments which abuse it at the expense of the (for the most part ignorant) masses.

Anyone who is not independently wealthy and doesn't have nearly infinite time and resources simply does not have the means to track where the money goes with all of the legal manipulations and convolutions one must go through to simply get information, let alone reliable information.

The whole thing is quite the joke, just as it was designed to be.

All I know, is if the world continues down the path of settling their differences using weapons instead of dealing with it in a more civilized and caring matter, we will eventually destroy ourselves and this planet.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: LDragonFire

Releasing some of the technologies in the black world would spur a growth that we could only dream of. The problem is that so much of it could be used to do Very Bad Things.

I have to agree.

More energy something uses or can produce the greater the potential for weapons.

I know for a fact that there is nuclear technology available that would make nuclear non proliferation a pointless exercise and if got out North Korea could have a hundred or more 100KT+ bombs overnight.

We may be able to use such technology but there are some backward arse people in world that wont.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: Drunkenparrot

Well said.

And for those who say WW2 proves quantity always beats quality .... WW2 does not always suggest that.

50 Japanese planes attacked the USS Laffey. Four FM-2 Wildcats engaged and defended with 0 losses until they ran out of fuel. Later 12 American Vought F4U Corsair fighters joined the fray.

I suggest you all look at the story of the Laffey, there is a short video somewhere. Quite an emotional and awe inspiring tale.

You also have the headache the German ME262 caused. I read somewhere the allies would laugh every time a V2 rocket was launched cause it would mean less ME262 being built!

Quantity only seems to work with land forces . Air and navy? its about quality.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
Just imagine how we'd all be living if we didn't have to pay for wars?

Free health care.
Homes for everyone.
Decent education.
Huge amounts of money for sensible research projects.
etc etc

But no, instead we give it all away to the men who make bombs and then we drop them on ourselves.

What a sick world we live in.

I always think about what we could do here in our country with the trillions of dollars spent on military and specifically, aid to other countries. Imagine if we were to spend all of that money on rebuilding our highway/road system, water, power, and communications systems? Imagine the jobs and innovation that would create for our country. As the days go by, I am becoming more and more in support of practicing isolationism to a certain extent. The time has come to take care of our own and let the rest fend for themselves.

originally posted by: MyHappyDogShiner
The subject of this thread covers many aspects of very similar thoughts I had as a young person, before I understood how difficult it is to accurately track a buck through the "system".

The banking industry itself makes tracking funds / resources very difficult by the very nature of it, and then because of the convoluted nature of it (it really isn't so complicated) it is difficult to report debits and credits on the ledger
sheet, let alone read it....

The system itself is designed to be abused by the very industries , corporations and governments which abuse it at the expense of the (for the most part ignorant) masses.

Anyone who is not independently wealthy and doesn't have nearly infinite time and resources simply does not have the means to track where the money goes with all of the legal manipulations and convolutions one must go through to simply get information, let alone reliable information.

The whole thing is quite the joke, just as it was designed to be.

It's a joke because you continue to assume the money being spent at this level is real. It's not. You can't track it because it doesn't exist except for it being claimed it is being spent.

Why? How else is the Government supposed to justify cutting public programs that impede on private profits.

They claim we are in an economic emergency in Australia when we have a triple A credit rating and positioned right below the two biggest wealthiest populations on the planet who want all the natural resources and food we can provide.

The Amount of new technology going into the F-35 is amazing. What you fail to realize is that all of this technology will be used in commercial applications aka Passenger Jets in the future. 90% of all our current technology from computers to cell phone is all derived from the development of military technology.

originally posted by: JBRiddle
The Amount of new technology going into the F-35 is amazing. What you fail to realize is that all of this technology will be used in commercial applications aka Passenger Jets in the future. 90% of all our current technology from computers to cell phone is all derived from the development of military technology.

Or rather technology that can be militarized which then becomes superseded allowing it to be released to the public.

The reason many of us even have homes is because of these planes and ships

The reason we haven't had WW3 is due to the overwhelming technology of NATO.

USA hasn't been attacked by a nation since WW2

UK was attached in 1982 and put down the Argentinian attack very quickly and overwhelmingly and Argentina can only only growl and bark now.

Fact is this tec stops wars before they start.

World wars and the traditional European gang bangs we like to have haven't stopped because Humans are more evolved and mature. They have stopped because anyone not in the USA friendship circle would get beaten to a bloody squealing pulp in a traditional war.

An interesting example of tech transfer....

The USAF has been using laminar flow control on aircraft for years, to allow them to be more efficient, and give them longer range, and better fuel consumption. They have gone a long way in the field.

Boeing recently unveiled and certified their 787-9 aircraft. On the tail of the aircraft, is the first ever commercial application of a hybrid laminar flow control system, which will give a 1-2% fuel burn over even the 787-8, which sees up to about 22% over other older aircraft.

originally posted by: jrflipjr
a reply to: elementalgrove

As a former USAF member, I completely concur - this was, is and will continue to be a waste of money. By the time it becomes IOC (initial operational capability), it will be outdated - actually that's the case for most USAF aircraft, but that's not the point.

Government works at the speed of law, which is the slowest process in human evolution. It is needed, but it is not practical anymore.

I believe a paradigm shift needs to occur on a much grander scale to encourage humans to consider the real world we live in. There are many movements to make this happen, but at the end of the day, I believe it will take a massive catastrophe for humans to be shaken to the core for what they believe - another world war?

I don't think fighting our governments is or will do anything. They are on a programmed path of ruin. It's up to human evolution to move ahead. The thinkers, feelers and shakers need to make it happen without the rule of law.

...and no, I'm not talking about anarchy. That's just another theory of government that works great on paper but not so much in execution.

Wait what? Anarchy means without rulers... So ZERO government... So... lol

Oh course we have to spend all of this money on aircraft and other military expenses. We're the biggest military power on the planet and we've got to ensure our citizen are completely and totally protected. I guess it doesn't matter if there's a bunch of homeless out there, or poor for that matter. As long as we have enough firepower we can keep ole homeless Joe safe from a volley of rockets or hand-full of lead. Hey, I guess it's better homeless than dead, right?

a reply to: Honcho

But of course, I believe that is a well recited view that the military industrial complex has worked so hard on conditioning into us! How else could we have perpetual war, I hope I have been able to match your tone

Star for you sir!

I think that the defense industry creates a lot of jobs spread over many states (if not all states). Cut that spending and jobs will be lost so cuts cannot happen overnight.

You'd have congress critters having to shut down overwhelmed phone systems (irony on infrastructure?).

Let's face it. We have ourselves in a circular path in this respect.

Just sayin'

a reply to: Meee32

Yes...but it is a form of government - if you read the literature on what true anarchy entails. It's not supposed to be Road Warrior or Mad Max like many imagine. That's called chaos, which I suppose could be considered a form of government itself.

a reply to: jrflipjr

To what end were the stealth planes beneficial to Americans? What if we had none?

To what end were the numerous nuclear weapons built during the Cold War beneficial to Americans? What if we had not made any?

Debatable subjects, no doubt.. but consider that the US was totally unprepared for WWI, barely having what one could barely call a standing army, let alone decent weapons. Is it possible that had we been prepared it would not have turned into the stand-off it did and might have saved lives? Or would it have made zero difference to the outcome?

There are no proofs to any answers to the above questions, merely opinions.

a reply to: bbracken677

I completely understand the necessity for progression - particularly through military technology programs. Hell, I'm actually a part of it! The question I have is with regards to producing an airplane that has yet to be IOC after BILLIONS have been spent on it - an airplane, no less! It seems there should be something to show for it.

If we would spend that amount on more important things, I would also expect some results. But the defense market is big. As the old saying goes, War is business and business is good." Well, I guess that's how the human race should be remembered - a race that prioritized defense and conflict as the primary goal of human achievement.

Sad, in my opinion.