Thursday, July 12, 2018

TRUMP NATO claim July 2018 - the facts

On 12 July 2018, a number of media outlets have allegedly "fact checked"  the statements made by Trump at the NATO Conference.  However, they really didn't provide numbers -- Trump said 4.2% for 2018, they cited some people saying 3.something% ... but reality says we need context.
Context is the numbers from 2017 presented here, and whatever the percentages are -- the WHOLE USA Budget Deficit is explained away in terms of what the USA pays to NATO. 
So those who do NOT want a Federal Budget Surplus will argue to keep funding NATO.
America does NOT need Troops in Europe.  If any NATION is dumb enough to declare war on Europe (the EU NATO members), missiles launched from the USA can erase that idiot country from history in a matter of hours.  That was the idea of the Cold War weapons development -- no troops, just authorization to launch, launch, and the soldiers can go home for meals with their families.
If you LIKE seeing American soldiers die, if you want your neighbor's kids -- who are serving the nation -- to die, you'll complain we need "Boots on the Ground".
Otherwise, you will tell every hostile nation on the planet that you will not take their Jihadist/terrorist/aggressor crap and if, as a nation, they engage in it, as a nation they will cease to exist.
If we are talking about local terrorist acts -- each nation MUST take care of its own safety and law enforcement... Americans should not need to travel a quarter of the way around the world, to some foreign country, to do what their local police can and should do.
America is NOT the World's Policeman -- if it were, then the world had better pay for the service.

PUBLIC INFORMATION:
1. As derived from the 2016 Obama Era Republican Budget, "The federal government ran a budget deficit of $666 billion in fiscal 2017, the biggest shortfall since 2013. The numbers: The federal government finished fiscal 2017 with a budget deficit of $666 billion, an increase of $80 billion over the previous year."
2. Obama Era policies carried forward into 2017 resulted in The U.S. GDP increasing to about 19.39 trillion U.S. dollars in 2017.
3. In 2017, the United States accounted for 51.1 percent of the allies' combined contributions to NATO missions.
4. As for direct costs, the U.S. currently pays about 22 percent of NATO’s “principal budgets” that are funded by all alliance members based on a cost-sharing formula that factors in the gross national income of each country.
5. Of the estimated $946 billion on defense in 2017, more than $683 billion was spent by the U.S.

READ THE NUMBERS:  fiscal 2017 with a budget deficit of $666 billion and America paid $683 billion.  Eliminate NATO and the USA has a BUDGET SURPLUS of $17 BILLION DOLLARS

GDP $19.39 trillion, Trump said the cost was going to be 4.2% of DGDP, if he is correct that means, in terms of the lower 2017 GDP, at least $814.38 Billion -- or 20% MORE than in 2017.
Play the wiki game {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_federal_budget} of what was requested/projected for 2018
federal government
2018 US federal budget
Submitted March 16, 2017
Submitted by Donald Trump
Submitted to 115th Congress
Total revenue $3.654 trillion (estimated)
Total expenditures $4.094 trillion[1] (requested)
Deficit $440 billion (requested)
GDP $20.237 trillion

If the Deficit were to be $440 Billon, then NATO is DENYING the USA a SURPLUS of $375 Billion


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