Widely reported but I have linked from Business Insider.
"President Donald Trump’s proposed budget guidance is asking for $1.3 billion in funding cuts to the U.S. Coast Guard at a time when the service is doing more than ever, and is already severely under-resourced. Trump’s budget would cancel a $500 million ship that is already in production, and would likely hit other areas of the Guard, which specializes in interdicting drugs, human trafficking, and keeping a close eye on what Russia is doing in the Arctic. "
Think what you will, but I will tell you that building a border wall w/Mexico will only drive more drug trafficking offshore. Cuts to the very service that provides drug interdiction is absolutely foolhardy, and demonstrates a complete naiveté about how these operations work. Of course, look who is in charge- amateurs, all.
Think what you will, but I will tell you that building a border wall w/Mexico will only drive more drug trafficking offshore. Cuts to the very service that provides drug interdiction is absolutely foolhardy, and demonstrates a complete naiveté about how these operations work. Of course, look who is in charge- amateurs, all.[/QUOTE]
Your president wants a more secure American boarder, wants to clean up the drug problem, wants to boost the strength of the military, protect American jobs and industry, project American strength. So obviously he needs to take money, jobs and projects away from the Coasties. Hang on, what? Actions not matching rhetoric again.
My friend got a ticket from the USCG when he was filling his small personal fishing boat with diesel and it “burped” when the nozzle shut off and 3 drops of diesel went in the water…
Reminds me of an UNREP with a DDG. We were passing fuel to them and there was a leak somewhere on their side at the probe. They had a drip pan under the leak which eventually filed the pan. So, what to do with the full pan? Dump the fuel over the side and put the pan back to catch more.
[QUOTE=Emrobu;195862]Your president wants a more secure American boarder, wants to clean up the drug problem, wants to boost the strength of the military, protect American jobs and industry, project American strength. So obviously he needs to take money, jobs and projects away from the Coasties. Hang on, what? Actions not matching rhetoric again.[/QUOTE]
Smugglers are easier to deal with offshore. Orions can spot them and F/A 18’s can zoom in and blast them out of the water with their 20mm Gatling guns.
Honestly, I can’t believe you guys sometimes. Your coasties are amazing.
How can you not stand up for men and women like this? “because I know a guy who told me he got a ticket for something he said was very trivial.” As much as we talk about the law and legal stuff around here, you don’t like law enforcement? You don’t like law enforcement who do amazing rescue work? You don’t like law enforcement who intercepts street drugs by the multi-metric-butt-ton?
From what I understand much of the current CG’s small boat patrols and drug interdiction will be taken over by Customs and the Border Patrol. There is lots of overlap in this area. Maybe that’s where the cuts will be.
About time this bloated and ineffective bureaucracy has its budget cut. The USCG use to be a great outfit,and search and rescue pros. Some still are. Then came the war on drugs, over regulated fishing, and so on. Now the USCG just wants to be “the military” with primarily a law enforcement mission. Other things are neglected and poorly done, like the incompetent bumbling clerks with no maritime expertise in West Virginia at the NMC. Cut the budget, close NMC, and send them all home. It’s long overdue.
56 Billion. That’s more than 6 times their total budget. And that’s just the coke. Seems to me like you’re getting your tax-payer money’s worth and then some.
[QUOTE=catherder;195860]…Think what you will, but I will tell you that building a border wall w/Mexico will only drive more drug trafficking offshore…[/QUOTE]
A former Commandant of the Coast Guard has [U]said the same thing[/U].
56 Billion. That’s more than 6 times their total budget. And that’s just the coke. Seems to me like you’re getting your tax-payer money’s worth and then some.[/QUOTE]
Don’t get too excited. Aside from the fact that those numbers are inflated to reflect street value, it’s not real money that can go into the Treasury or pay for the chase.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;195967]Don’t get too excited. Aside from the fact that those numbers are inflated to reflect street value, it’s not real money that can go into the Treasury or pay for the chase.[/QUOTE]
No. I don’t think anyone expects a government agency to make money. They cost money, they’re meant to. But preventing 56 billion dollars of cocaine from hitting the streets and decreasing the profitability of the traffickers has to be worth something to you. Seems to be an effectual use of funds, is all. More effectual than pork barrelling war machines and bases that the armed forces themselves don’t actually want, or funnelling money into the pockets of personal friends to build ridiculous walls for ridiculous prices. When it comes to border security, seems like they’re robbing peter to pay paul.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;195902]Smugglers are easier to deal with offshore. Orions can spot them and F/A 18’s can zoom in and blast them out of the water with their 20mm Gatling guns.[/QUOTE]
Blasting them would violate their civil rights and human rights so we can’t do that. Besides, it is not in anyone’s interest to “win the drug war” because it might put a whole shitload of TV and movie character models out of work. Winning that war would be a real threat to those who get fat on the police state tit.
[QUOTE=Steamer;195997]Blasting them would violate their civil rights and human rights so we can’t do that. Besides, it is not in anyone’s interest to “win the drug war” because it might put a whole shitload of TV and movie character models out of work. Winning that war would be a real threat to those who get fat on the police state tit.[/QUOTE]
You’re right, too many people on this side of the border enjoying the cartels’ products and others profiting from the drug war. Here’s a CG press release on how to effectively reduce rpm on smugglers’ boats preceded by a whiny intro from an “unbiased” SF “journalist”.
[QUOTE=Emrobu;195968]No. I don’t think anyone expects a government agency to make money. They cost money, they’re meant to. [/QUOTE]
Not so fast, Nelvana of the Northern Lights. In 2016, CBP had a $13.9 billion operations budget and produced $44.6 billion in revenue. Most, but not all government agencies suck money out of the treasury.
From the article: [U]In addition, with China’s expansion in the South China Sea and the U.S. Navy’s shortage of assets in the region, there has been discussion of the Coast Guard providing a more persistent presence in the area. [/U]
They currently don’t have the resources they need to properly accomplish the wide array of jobs they’re being saddled with. I used to assume that that the US Coast Guard was exactly what its name says: guarding the US coast. I say let the navy handle affairs in places like the South China sea and let some other bureaucracy take care of the paper work. Breathe new life into Marad and assign them the task of ship inspections.