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Oh no. US billionaires do, indeed, have a military. It is the largest, most powerful, most well equipped military in human history. It is the US armed forces. T
by BirAdam 4y ago
Oh no. US billionaires do, indeed, have a military. It is the largest, most powerful, most well equipped military in human history. It is the US armed forces. They also have police departments across the country. This is a very large subsidy to these billionaires, as are: mass transit, food stamps, WIC, etc. Without these government services (which the billionaires put in place through politicians whom they purchased), the billionaires would have to provide the services or be killed by angry mobs.
- mulmen 4y agoThe US military is a jobs program that elevates hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty. It’s the most effective socialist program in human history. It’s unassailable in domestic politics.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- pstuart 4y agoThis fact cannot be emphasized enough. The pity of it is that the jobs are not oriented towards public works.
- mulmen 4y agoIt’s arguable but generally I agree. The New Deal worked for the US. National service policies in general seem to work well globally. Defense seems to be a non-issue but domestic service is debatable. It’s disgusting but this is our reality. It’s the ultimate condemnation of “conservative” values. As a millennial I would have joined the National Guard if there was a guarantee of no service in foreign wars. I think a peaceful national service organization that guaranteed some kind of modest lifetime pension and higher education would resolve a lot of debates. But, for most US military vets that’s already true of their service.
- HWR_14 4y ago> The pity of it is that the jobs are not oriented towards public works Except for the National Guard and the Coast Guard (which, as I understand it, gets some military money).
- pstuart 4y agoYeah, fair enough. Coasties seem to do a lot of drug enforcement which is a shame (because The War on Drugs is a lost cause at best).
- mulmen 4y agoWell, technically they are interdicting smugglers. The smugglers happen to be carrying drugs because they are illegal. But even if we legalized all drugs domestically we would still need someone to monitor and prevent smuggling.
- dghlsakjg 4y agoThe USCG is a full on branch of the armed forces with an additional law enforcement mandate. During wartime it was under the command of the Department of the Navy. Currently it is under the DHS.