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Finally, the conversation over attacking deficits aims at the most appropriate target: the military budget. In a welcome bi-partisan appeal, Rep. Barney Frank and Rep. Ron Paul spell out a compelling rationale for cutting military spending, which for too long has enjoyed protection from scrutiny.
"For decades," write the two members of Congress, "the subject of military expenditures has been glaringly absent from public debate. Yet the Pentagon budget for 2010 is $693 billion -- more than all other discretionary spending programs combined. Even subtracting the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, military spending still amounts to over 42% of total spending.
"It is irrefutably clear to us that if we do not make substantial cuts in the projected levels of Pentagon spending, we will do substantial damage to our economy and dramatically reduce our quality of life."
