D&D and the rising pandemic

[CapnZapp]

Well the context was things government could do back then they can't now.
The "national will" or whatever you want to call it isn't there. People would take jail time vs conscription for example. Well they would be in the streets first.

Less control over media as well.

You are hard to discuss with.

I am quite literally saying the government absolutely can do now what they could do back then. You just have never seen it happen.

Please don't interpret my words to have the exact opposite meaning.

Regarding the "will isn't there": to me there's an obvious difference between what most often can be called a "colonial adventure" (Korea, Vietnam, Irak, Afghanistan) and an absolute threat to your way of life (Nazi Germany). Saying there "isn't a will" to argue it can't be don't simply ignores the fact Pax Americana hasn't been even close to threatened these last eighty years.

That does not mean it can't be done.

You seem to argue from the viewpoint of someone assuming the government would do this against the will of its people, but that's obviously not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a situation where the majority of Americans see a clear and direct threat to their loved ones, where politicians forget their squabbles and unite into action.

At such a point you would definitely see what the US government is capable of doing, gloves off.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

At such a point you would definitely see what the US government is capable of doing, gloves off.

Paraphrasing what someone said elsewhere, you don’t want to find out why Americans don’t have great healthcare…

 

[Zardnaar]

Paraphrasing what someone said elsewhere, you don’t want to find out why Americans don’t have great healthcare…

Seen that meme already today

 

[Zardnaar]

You are hard to discuss with.

I am quite literally saying the government absolutely can do now what they could do back then. You just have never seen it happen.

Please don't interpret my words to have the exact opposite meaning.

Regarding the "will isn't there": to me there's an obvious difference between what most often can be called a "colonial adventure" (Korea, Vietnam, Irak, Afghanistan) and an absolute threat to your way of life (Nazi Germany). Saying there "isn't a will" to argue it can't be don't simply ignores the fact Pax Americana hasn't been even close to threatened these last eighty years.

That does not mean it can't be done.

You seem to argue from the viewpoint of someone assuming the government would do this against the will of its people, but that's obviously not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a situation where the majority of Americans see a clear and direct threat to their loved ones, where politicians forget their squabbles and unite into action.

At such a point you would definitely see what the US government is capable of doing, gloves off.

Fir that to happen though the conditions aren't there anymore.

Watched some old Walter Kronkite clips from the 1960's. Draft ended in the 70's you should be able to figure out why.

Military also seems short staffed it's a lot smaller than it was 39 years ago.

Don't get me wrong I think the US can thump anyone they want to in a convectional war. But you require boots on ground.

Impossible strictly not. But may as well be.

The context was crisis management the conditions that enabled the responses in 1929-45 don't exist any more on multiple levels.

Hell here it's actually illegal.

Crisis is exactly that not maybe spend 50 years fixing things. There's 3 crisis brewing 2 can fire off at any time, 1 from January next year.

 

[Umbran]

...you should be able to figure out why.

If you are going to make an assertion, you shoudl support it. "I am right, you'll see it if you go do the homework" is not solid discussion.

Or, to put it another way - if you aren't going to offer support for your assertions, we don't need support to dismiss them.

 

[Zardnaar]

If you are going to make an assertion, you shoudl support it. "I am right, you'll see it if you go do the homework" is not solid discussion.

Or, to put it another way - if you aren't going to offer support for your assertions, we don't need support to dismiss them.

Said reason violates forum rules. They seem flexible anyway so if I have your explicit permission to go more in depth.

Polite version is good governance.

Not the only reason. Just using the mist recent examples of crisis management and things like Afghanistan withdrawal.

Biggest reason is economic though.

 

[Hussar]

Ok, let's back up a second.

The US managed to fight the two longest armed conflicts in its history concurently.

All while spending slightly less than 5% of it's GDP on its military. LOTS of countries spend more on their military than the US does, as a percent of their GDP. Hell, JAPAN spends more than the US. The point being is that 5% of its GDP was enough to outspend (up until the last decade or so anyway) the ENTIRE WORLD COMBINED.

The US doesn't have to go to WWII level spending. A 1% increase in the US Defense budget again puts in ahead of the entire world combined. What a lot of people don't recognize is that the US economy is just that much larger than everyone else. California, by itself, has a larger GDP than every other country other than the US and China. Never minding the other 49 states.

@Zardnaar - to put it in perspective. The US spends less than 5% of it's GDP on its military. That's THREE TIMES the ENTIRE GDP of New Zealand.

Pump that up to even 10% and it's unbelievable amounts of resources.

 

[Zardnaar]

Ok, let's back up a second.

The US managed to fight the two longest armed conflicts in its history concurently.

All while spending slightly less than 5% of it's GDP on its military. LOTS of countries spend more on their military than the US does, as a percent of their GDP. Hell, JAPAN spends more than the US. The point being is that 5% of its GDP was enough to outspend (up until the last decade or so anyway) the ENTIRE WORLD COMBINED.

The US doesn't have to go to WWII level spending. A 1% increase in the US Defense budget again puts in ahead of the entire world combined. What a lot of people don't recognize is that the US economy is just that much larger than everyone else. California, by itself, has a larger GDP than every other country other than the US and China. Never minding the other 49 states.

@Zardnaar - to put it in perspective. The US spends less than 5% of it's GDP on its military. That's THREE TIMES the ENTIRE GDP of New Zealand.

Pump that up to even 10% and it's unbelievable amounts of resources.

I'm aware of that. Never denied USA is good at blowing stuff up it's what comes after that you run into problems. Trillion dollars down the drain or was it 2 trillion?
Not my tax money what me worry?

 

[niklinna]

Maybe spin off a new thread to continue the topic of U.S. military spending please.

 

[Hussar]

I'm aware of that. Never denied USA is good at blowing stuff up it's what comes after that you run into problems. Trillion dollars down the drain or was it 2 trillion?
Not my tax money what me worry?

?

I'm not even sure what you're arguing anymore. You started by claiming that the US couldn't maintain a WWII level of military power. This is countered by the fact that the US currently fields an armed forces that is so far beyond what any single country could field, with the possible exception of China, that it's historically unprecedented.

I've quite lost the point you were trying to make.

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Yeah, niklinna - you are absolutely right. This is far too political for the boards and very much not on topic. I will drop it now.