As talk of tax hikes, spending, and ‘redirection of federal investment’ appear to be occupying the majority of time for legislators at this point, necessary areas of spending which can be cut without anyone knowing–or without anyone knowing for years–will continue to end up in Barack Obama’s cross-hairs.
Many fear that one such area is military Research & Development. For this is an area that keeps us technologically dominant on the battlefield decades from now, and it’s an area in which Obama significantly cut funding during this first term.
To be specific, funding for military Research, Development, Test & Evaluation declined 17 percent during Obama’s first term. They will decline another 12 percent during Obama’s second term, if the decline doesn’t get even more significant than anticipated.
And that decline could get more significant as “political pressure is mounting from lawmakers who believe that government money could better be spent elsewhere and that defense R&D ‘crowds out’ private sector R&D.” (I didn’t know Obama still wanted a private sector?)
There are at least two huge problems with such an approach to spending cuts: 1. Maintaining a military capable of defending our homeland and liberty is one of the few constitutionally mandated roles of government (Preamble to the Constitution: “provide for common defense“). 2. The battles of the future are decided right now, as we stay leaps and bounds (rather than steps and inches) beyond our enemies technologically.
We give up military technological superiority to our peril.
(You can read further on this subject by clicking HERE)
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