Romney’s Unrealistic Plan For More Military Spending

Romney wants to build two submarines a year at a cost of $2 billion per ship, part of his “plan to gradually increase military spending to 4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, a major increase from the Obama administration’s budget.”

As part of his proposals, Mr. Romney would restore Mr. Obama’s cuts of about 100,000 troops in the Army and the Marines, which he says are vital to the battle-readiness of the nation’s ground forces, and would invest more in missile defense. But his most specific proposals are to increase the reach and power of the Navy, which plays well in the critical battleground states of Florida and Virginia, both home to large naval installations.

Mr. Romney would build 15 ships a year, including 3 submarines, compared with Mr. Obama’s 9 or 10.

With tax cuts and no way to pay for increased military spending, it is questionable how this can be accomplished while staying revenue-neutral. According to Michèle A. Flournoy, a national security adviser to the president’s campaign and a former top Pentagon official in the Obama administration, Romney’s increase in spending has nothing to do with what the Pentagon needs to keep us safe, “It’s simply ‘Let’s throw a figure against the wall and look tough on defense’.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.