Cfwydirk t1_j9sb6cx wrote
I 100% support arming Ukraine.
However in America we fund many programs, yet have little oversight of exactly where the money goes.
Rossismyname t1_j9sbweq wrote
Pentagon fails its audits all the time, they can't even manage their own spending
Professional-Can1385 t1_j9sei8l wrote
It’s difficult to keep up with that much money.
DevoidHT t1_j9sjkr9 wrote
The US military is almost a shadow government. Not in the sense that they’re clandestinely manipulating events or whatever but they have a bigger budget(gdp) than many countries and very little oversight(compared to the civilian budget).
gofundyourself007 t1_j9t7nkw wrote
Yeah they have black budgets, underground SCIFs (where high ranking officials can learn of certain secrets they are cleared for), and incredibly compartmentalized to facilitate secrecy. The MIC is obsessed with compartments and modules. From their weapons platforms to their bunkers and especially with their hierarchy. I read one year (2016 I believe) that 6.5 trillion (with a T!) went “missing” into black budget projects. That’s not corruption, it’s way too much. It’s likely them spending on things they don’t want any record of. It’s very shady and needs to be thoroughly audited imo.
Edit: corrected misspelling
Iztac_xocoatl t1_j9thvyb wrote
SCIF not skiff. A skiff is a little boat you use to get to a bigger one on a mooring. I guess the military probably has skiff too though so technically correct
gofundyourself007 t1_j9vo88v wrote
Ah thanks for correcting me without being a jerk about it.
Cruxion t1_j9ufv94 wrote
Maybe they have underground rivers they navigate to get between all the top-secret underground military bases?
/S because you know someone's gonna take it seriously and suggest it's our first line of defense against the reptilians.
[deleted] t1_j9ths80 wrote
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gofundyourself007 t1_j9vogzs wrote
No wonder we have a debt of over 27 trillion if we just accept that the Pentagon’s black budget is larger than their actual budget.
insan3guy t1_j9v5fnc wrote
> underground skiffs where high ranking officials can learn of certain secrets they are cleared for
No you don’t understand, the navy uses skiffs, the army uses dinghies
> I read one year (2016 I believe) that 6.5 trillion went “missing” into black budget projects
I’d ask for a source but it’s probably the same place you thought you learned what a scif is for
gofundyourself007 t1_j9vo210 wrote
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/pentagon-audit-budget-fraud/
There’s a source that you didn’t ask for. It’s not the original it just references the original article. The 6.5 trillion was more than the Pentagon’s entire budget that year by A LOT. If it is corruption then we have a serious leak in our budget.
Also I learned about SCIFs from Congressmen who have repeatedly described being allowed into these sites (not boats). Some may even be located in the aforementioned bunkers but that’s just an educated guess.
insan3guy t1_j9vul5f wrote
Good article, thanks. As you said, there's no way that amount of money is 100% corruption. On the other hand, there's no way it's all being used for things outside the scope of national defense. Sometimes secrets must be kept - the titanium procurement for the SR-71 is one such example. Yes, it's absolutely shady, but that doesn't automatically mean it's improper.
And a scif (sensitive compartmented information facility) is a place that's secure enough to store/transmit/work with certain types of documents/information. It's just a type of room built or modified to a certain certification to allow the handling of classified stuff. Less nuclear bunker and more windowless room with a faraday cage.
I've been inside a few as a lowly navy e4, they're nowhere near as exciting as people seem to think. Including congressmen who don't know what they're talking about, or who had to take the GED 3 times before passing. It's a low bar.
Hip_Hop_Hippos t1_j9w2xw9 wrote
Dude, a SCIF is just a room where you're allowed to store, view and discuss classified information. You're wildly overblowing these things, they aren't secret lairs (edit: typo). They're windowless rooms with a door that you can't kick in.
>The 6.5 trillion was more than the Pentagon’s entire budget that year by A LOT. If it is corruption then we have a serious leak in our budget.
And the first sentence here should be your clue that 6.5 trillion dollars didn't get spent on classified projects in a single year.
Hypertension123456 t1_j9t69bv wrote
Exactly. Its always been like this, everywhere. Any large scale human project has to deal with corruption and malfeasance. I'm sure when the Egyptians built the pyramids someone skimmed something for themselves. The genius is getting the job done through adversity versus failing.
[deleted] t1_j9tby40 wrote
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Dingo9933 t1_j9v8bly wrote
Slap a tag that says "Military Expense" on anything and we ( the US) will not even look twice at what its being used for and will only get mad if you DONT spend it all.
So much better than funding a i dont know....National Health care plan SMH
smilbandit t1_j9v9vbb wrote
i say drop their future budget to only what can be audited
LystAP t1_j9slvl9 wrote
I just have come to accept that's just how things are in the U.S..
>Scott Greytak, the advocacy director for the U.S. office of Transparency International, cited a broader “decay” in U.S. political institutions as a major contributor to the country’s declining rating. Gretyak noted that public confidence in U.S. elections has been undercut by disinformation and record-setting amounts of untraceable money in elections—especially in 2020, when twice as much was spent compared with 2016.
>
>“Second, and increasingly important, are these series of really bombshell exposés by media outlets that are demonstrating how much dirty money is flowing into the United States’ financial system,” he said, referencing a joint investigation published by BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists last year that revealed how major banks had knowingly allowed trillions of dollars of suspect financial transactions to go ahead, enabling drug kingpins, kleptocrats, and terrorists to move corrupt cash around the world.
All across the country, lobbyists and interest groups are rife, and our political system is crap. Both parties accuse the other of corruption, and both are right because both parties are infested with corruption. People like to bang on corruption of other countries, but arguably the U.S. is just as bad as a lot of them. We're not Russia levels of bad yet, but looking at the news, I feel that future is always looming in sight.
People say we shouldn't spend more money on foreign aid and spend it here. I'm not convinced that they are saying that because they are righteous, but more because they want the money here to steal themselves.
Cfwydirk t1_j9sn2pc wrote
Amen. When you take off the star spangled rose colored glasses, it’s pretty ugly here.
Pryoticus t1_j9ssduv wrote
We don’t have enough oversight when we find our own wars
Feruk_II t1_j9v58pd wrote
You don't really think they spent $20,000 on a hammer, $30,000 on a toilet seat, do you?
Cfwydirk t1_j9vf39i wrote
There have been a few instances of such things but, they never tell you what happened to cause the craziness.
Such as was the contractor tasked to find a better way of doing this or that? Then, after analysis the old tried and true equipment or method of doing things was the best way causing the research cost being rolled into the cost of the item.
Feruk_II t1_j9vffas wrote
I think that's part of it, but look at the Pentagon. They can't even pass an audit. So it's not so much a matter of money being spent poorly as much as just a lack of understanding of how the money was actually spent.
Cfwydirk t1_j9vfnie wrote
There is a reason they don’t leave a trail for the auditors to find.
cscf0360 t1_j9umb72 wrote
Yeah, like Trump's massive corporate giveaway in the form of the PPP "loans". I trust Ukraine with the money more than US corporations.
Cfwydirk t1_j9ve5sv wrote
That’s the beauty of politics. When you fund things and there is no oversight it’s hard to point fingers.
westdl t1_j9wrjzc wrote
They’re killing Russian murders and rapists and doing so with extreme efficiency. At this point I don’t care if a few Ukrainians skim off the top to pimp out their bomb shelter. Besides, has any politician in the US been prosecuted for corruption this century? They don’t become millionaires off of their government salary.
[deleted] t1_j9tbrsg wrote
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NuteTheBarber t1_j9tdfq5 wrote
This is why republicans wanted an auditor general but it got shot down
Ltownbanger t1_j9trmc8 wrote
How would their proposal differ from the office of the Comptroller Genereal that the US already has?
nomofica t1_j9vzzo9 wrote
It wouldn't, it's a milquetoast attempt to generate more "we tried but those evil Democrats stood in our way" talking points.
Cfwydirk t1_j9vdimz wrote
Smoke and mirrors. There is already a branch of government that fills that roll. Since 1921, the (General Accountability Office) has been serving the public. In that role. The politicians of both parties hold them on a leash and don’t have them audit all Federal programs as they should. “The work of the GAO is done at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees or is mandated by public laws or committee reports.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Accountability_Office
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