Top 5 Regions of America's Economy That Are Predicted To Flourish. The above link (below) takes you to the Forbes article which predict that 5 key regions of America will flourish and generate many hundreds of billions of dollars for the U.S economy in the near future. I have read the article in full, and from it I have noticed that there is no mention of smaller manufacturing production jobs being created, and as we all know, America imports a huge amount of small goods, from electrical to fads and junk from foreign countries.

If you have learnt about America's economy, then you will have heard how America slowly built itself back up after World War 2 to become the biggest exporter of goods in the World. But today the situation is much different.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States
Just scrolling down to the 2012 defense budget figures from Wikipedia I notice the amount in total spent on defense is predicted to be between 1 to 1.4 TRILLION U.S Dollars...

Of course, any nation has a defense budget, but just how much money really needs to be spent on defense in reality?
The answer is not easy to calculate, but remember this:- Defense industries in America are constantly developing new weapons, military systems and military equipment, upgrading existing weapons, military systems and equipment, and putting forward ideas and suggestions to Government. Likewise, Government experts in military systems demand specific weaponry, military systems and military equipment from the manufacturers, who gain their contracts from Government and then deliver their military products as requested.

The Top 100 Defense Companies Currently or Regularly Contracted by the U.S Government:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_defense_contractors

The above link details just the top 100 defense contractors, who are the major recipients of defense spending money.
Of course the list doesn't include the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and other personnel who are part of the Military and who receive wages ranging from infantry who get the minimum wage, and the upper level Military personnel who are paid in excess and many might say far too much !

What I would like to suggest is, that Americans should take notice of what has happened to their country, and I aim this squarely at the patriots who believe in their Government and Military actions in foreign countries- because if America took just a quarter of the money out of the Military/defense budget for one year, then 250 Billion Dollars could be used to fix up a great number of America's internal problems. If for example, one quarter of troops were made redundant, and instead were given jobs in newly-created industries such as small goods production, then America could be producing the goods that they import- so that would be a double bonus for America.

This is a reasonable proposal- and it's a 3-Step Plan which involves holding back 200 to 250 billion dollars usually spent on Defense for just one year:-

1. Cut the defense spending to weapons contractors by a quarter, and divert funds to areas of America which need investment.
2. Remove troops from the Middle East, or at least cut infantry positions by a substantial number, and give them jobs in newly-created factories and industries.
3. The long-term unemployed people of America and redundant troops would no longer require benefit payments and would be producing the goods that America currently imports.

http://www.policyalmanac.org/world/defense_spending.shtml
The above link is defense spending budget passed by the House in 2003, which says the defense budget was roughly $355 Billion dollars. When you look at America's economy today, how many Government departments and States have had their spending tripled? Probably none of them have received triple the budget spending from Government- yet Defense contractors have got their foot in the taxpayer's door year after year, and have received triple the amount of funds from Government since 2002.

Here in Britain the Defense spending has roughly doubled since 2002 to total today's spending of about £40 Billion pounds sterling, and our economy is doing just as disastrously as America's. This year alone there have been major cuts to police numbers, which means our streets are not as safe. Our minimum wage has not increased in line with inflation, and with energy bills set to rise by as much as 30 percent this month- you can imagine what that will do to people in Britain on a low wage and with a family to support...

Yes, you have heard much of this before- how many times have you heard somebody suggest that defense spending has tripled, that America imports far too much and has lost industry jobs, and that people just cannot make ends meet?
As I am British and live in Britain, I cannot do much more than observe and suggest that only the American people call for the changes that America desperately needs- and I firmly believe that with defense contractors and the military industrial complex as a whole should not have a grip over the U.S Government.
One in every seven elderly American is going through food poverty- and they were the people who built up America to become the best manufacturing country ever, to then quickly demise into defense spending chaos. Thanks to the Republicans, and thanks to the Democrats. One other option would be to raise the cash needed by taxing the mega corporations and most profitable financial companies- but that would probably start an 'Occupy Wall Street' movement by Wall Street itself...and the Government definately is in the grip of those financial and mega corporation profiteers who won't accept a penny less than they alredy get.

So when you go to vote in a month's time, then remember this article, and what I have suggested to get America back on track. The 3-Step Plan is probably the only way to get things back on track, and I bet you a Dollar that no politician will have read this article nor endorsed the 3-Step Plan initiative, because a politician in America who tries to suggest a change to defense spending in such a drastic way would be scoffed at by the war industries, and the mainstream media would put the 3-Step Plan down to somebody who 'has probably been touched by the sun'...or something nasty like that.

Has anybody else got a suggestion? Or should we all just vote, hope- and pray on our knees...???

by Russell S.Wyllie of http://Youtube.com/GlobalPrison and http://facebook.com/groups/beforeyouconsiderarmyrecruitmentconsiderthis
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2012/01/04/the-u-s-economy-regions-to-watch-in-2012/