Most people associate George McGovern with his crushing defeat in the 1972 presidential contest against Richard Nixon and for being the face of anti-war liberalism and the peace movement during the Vietnam War more than four decades ago. But at 86, he's still very active and still floating controversial ideas about war and defense spending.
In an op-ed Monday in the Wall Street Journal, McGovern calls for a 50% reduction in the U.S. defense budget and for all military troops to be brought back from Iraq and Afghanistan by Thanksgiving.
Neither will happen, but that doesn't mean the argument the former South Dakota senator makes should be easily dismissed. He makes some worthwhile points.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
McGovern would redirect much of the savings from slashing the defense budget to other sources of national security. It's worth the debate it won't get. An awful lot of Pentagon spending is inefficient and wasteful, often going to programs and weapon systems championed by individual members of Congress but not by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Many are for programs that stopped being appropriate when the Cold War ended, like the B-2 bomber.
The defense lobby has to be the biggest in Washington, and defense-related committee members are among the most influential in Congress. The budget would never be cut in any such drastic way. Still, a couple hundred billion more a year for other types of national security work, such as border control and greater human intelligence at spy agencies, would be quite a boost to our security.
McGovern would also use some of the savings from ending the wars for a broad new GI Bill of Rights, allowing every soldier a fully-paid college education at the school of his or her choice, public or private. That would cost a tiny fraction of the $12 billion being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan each month, and it would have a good return on investment for service men and women who deserve our thanks and support. Education is always a winner.
McGovern, a World War II bomber pilot, used the old GI Bill of his generation to gain a Ph.D. in history that probably helped propel him to enter politics. He recently authored a history book, "Abraham Lincoln" about the continuing influence the 16th president has on American life.
In any event, McGovern, the aging and fading liberal icon, is well worth reading and paying attention to. He's fought losing battles before, and his new ideas will be probably go down as losers, too. It would be good if a congressional hearing or two was devoted to them, though. McGovern deserves that.
-
AI Regulation is Looming: Kiplinger Economic ForecastsEconomic Forecasts Find out what Washington and regulators have planned for artificial intelligence.
-
The Biden Tax Plan: How the Build Back Better Act Could Affect Your Tax BillPolitics Depending on your income, the Build Back Better Act recently passed by the House could boost or cut your future tax bills.
-
Kiplinger's 2020 Election ForecastPolitics For nearly a century, The Kiplinger Letter has forecasted the outcome of presidential elections to keep readers informed of what's coming and what it means for them. Here's our call for 2020.
-
The 2020 Election and Your MoneyPolitics We’ve assessed how the presidential candidates’ stances on financial issues will affect your wallet.
-
5 HEROES Act Provisions with a Good Chance of Becoming LawPolitics The massive federal stimulus bill just passed by the House of Representatives is "dead on arrival" in the Senate. But a few proposals in the bill have enough bipartisan support to eventually become law.
-
Vote by Mail: A State-by-State Guide to Absentee Ballot VotingPolitics With health authorities recommending people continue to social distance, the idea of voting by mail is becoming an increasingly hot topic.
-
9 Ways COVID-19 Will Change the 2020 ElectionsPolitics The 2020 election will be like no other in history, as the COVID-19 pandemic will upend the business of politics as usual.
-
How to Run for Local OfficePolitics If you’ve ever thought that you could do a better job than the elected officials currently in office, here’s how to launch a campaign—and win.
