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In defense of wise spending

It is not difficult to visualize what Washington lobbyists for the big defense contractors were doing last week. They were rubbing their hands together in glee over President Donald Trump’s budget proposal.

Trump included a $54 billion increase in military spending in the $1.15 trillion budget blueprint he revealed. That amounts to an increase of about 10 percent.

It is true the armed forces need more resources to cope with the ever-multiplying threats to our security. It is also true that the Pentagon and Congress waste enormous amounts of money.

For their part, lawmakers are not shy about appropriating money for weapons systems and bases the Pentagon says are not needed.

On the other side of the coin, the generals and admirals love to spend money on new-and-improved armaments that may or may not be the best solutions to modern defense problems.

Don’t even get us started on cost overruns.

By all means, our men and women in the armed forces should be equipped to face global threats to our security. It needs to be remembered, however, that every dollar wasted is an opportunity for our enemies.

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