Target war spending to balance budget

Cutting over $1 trillion should not be done to the programs that help the sickest, the oldest and youngest in our country. Cut the largest section of discretionary spending, the Pentagon budget. By ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, on the agreed to timetables, $200 billion could be saved over 10 years, one-sixth of the supercommittee’s goal of cutting over $1 trillion.

Bring the troops home, but make sure they have jobs when they get here. The administration has included $85 billion in its latest budget for maintenance and modernization of the nuclear weapons infrastructure over the next decade, plus at least $100 billion for maintenance and modernization of nuclear weapons delivery vehicles. The bipartisan Report of the Sustainable Defense Task Force suggests cutting our nuclear arsenal to 500 deployed warheads. A large part of the military budget funds the purchase and maintenance of weapons designed for conventional enemies, of which we have none; these weapons are outdated relics of the Cold War. We could save billions of dollars annually by retiring them and not purchasing new ones.

Specific cuts could come from reducing or eliminating the following weapons systems: Ballistic Missile Defense, Virginia-Class Submarine, V-22 Osprey, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Offensive Space Weapons.

Tax breaks for the rich and military spending are the main causes of todays deficit. By ending the wars, cutting the Pentagon’s overstuffed budget, and restoring top-bracket taxation, the supercommittee can reduce or even eliminate the deficit without touching Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or aid our city and state urgently need.

Tahzeeb Zaidi

Streamwood