The Sacrifice Ahead
The Sacrifice Ahead: The 2012 Defense Budget – Center for a New American Security policy brief by Travis Sharp.
The fiscal year 2012 defense budget request is a break from the past ten years of budget growth, but it does not go far enough to rebalance defense spending priorities given the fiscal pressures and threats the United States faces, according to this policy brief. The Sacrifice Ahead: The 2012 Defense Budget recommends that the Department of Defense (DOD) pursue additional efficiencies savings and make modest reductions in its base budget to help shore up the U.S. economy, the core of America’s global and military power.
In The Sacrifice Ahead, author Travis Sharp calls on government leaders — including the next secretary of defense and members of Congress — to address the budgetary challenges that threaten U.S. national security: The Pentagon’s need to further streamline its operations and America’s growing debt.
“The FY 2012 budget requested by DOD will enable the U.S. military to defend the nation against many perils. But it will do little to stymie a threat that may ultimately prove more dangerous: America’s growing debt,” writes Sharp. “Over time, the economic consequences of indebtedness may crowd out investments in a U.S. military that undergirds international security; may render the United States more vulnerable to economic coercion; and may erode America’s global stature and soft power. Relieving U.S. indebtedness demands preventive action by American society and government — including DOD.”
