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[Frumple]

Well... only problem besides all the other problems, anyway. Think the price comparison of the military budget is every bit of trans medical costs vis a vis military = ~1 (one) abrams, ferex. Which, hey, I seem to recall this congress (or at least much or it) steamrolling over military requests to cut down on producing new tanks.

Think I already said it, pretty sure RK said it, no doubt lots of other people have said it. Anyone bringing up the costs involved as meaningful is kinda' spouting bullshit. There's maybe an argument to be had re: individual soldier costs,* but that's pretty much the whole and complete totality of it.

*I'm actually not sure there, though, oddly enough. There's more than just the straight medic costs involved -- as baff noted your calculus point is return in investment, and there's some interesting wrinkles there. Trans soldiers are apparently pretty heavily represented in spec ops, ferex, but which is an interesting bit of trivia considered the whole currently serving total is estimated at around the 15k on the high end.

[Baffler]

But how is excessive costs existing elsewhere for political reasons (the army doesn't want those tanks, the politicians representing the people building them want the army to keep buying them) a valid excuse to add in still more excessive costs for political reasons?

[Frumple]

Doesn't, really. Just notes that the folks that did this don't actually give a single fuck about excess costs. Somehow, for whatever reason, even the people advocating to screw over trans soldiers a bit didn't think their costs were sufficiently excess to keep them out of the military.

... also, seriously, I'm not actually sure the costs for trans soldiers are excessive, much less there for primarily political reasons (more moral or constitutional if anything, really). People have been noting some of the costs related to the inclination, but no one I've noticed has taken the time to see if what they're incurring in relation to military coverage is actually out of line, or if whatever they're tending to bring to the table sufficiently offsets it that it's worth the cost.

Plenty of people treating the cost of a single tank as worth more than about fifteen thousand soldiers though :V

[Neonivek]

That DANG border wall... Look Trump it isn't going to happen. It is a HUGE money sink with no return on investment and even a Solar Wall is less efficient than just building an entirely separate solar plant.

[smjjames]

According to the politico article I linked a bit earlier, one of the supporters reasoning for not wanting it is: “It’s not so much the transgender surgery issue as much as we continue to let the defense bill be the mule for all of these social experiments that the left wants to try to [foist] on government,”

So, really, I have no idea what the House Republicans actually wanted Trump to do or how he would have done what they wanted to do, except Trump decided to apply a giant battleaxe to the thing rather than a scalpel. Or as one person on the article puts it, "like asking the WH to light a candle on the table, instead, they light the whole freaking table on fire".

Can't wait for the first major crisis not self-inflicted.

That DANG border wall... Look Trump it isn't going to happen. It is a HUGE money sink with no return on investment and even a Solar Wall is less efficient than just building an entirely separate solar plant.

Yeah, there's a hundred other things that money could be used on which would get a much better return on investment, and as a businessman, Trump should understand 'return on investment'. Then again.......

[Neonivek]

Even as a monument it is lacking.

I'd sooner support a billion dollar statue of Abe Luncheon.

In fact why not just build it? Abe Luncheon was a very important American that a lot of people look up to.

[Frumple]

Even as a monument it is lacking.

I'd sooner support a billion dollar statue of Abe Luncheon.

In fact why not just build it? Abe Luncheon was a very important American that a lot of people look up to.

... I think you'll find autocorrupt has mislead you as to american appreciation of historical figures.

E: Though just to make it clear, the last bit of that last post wasn't directed at you, baff. I'm not even remotely hostile to a good faith argument from the perspective of fiscal efficiency and military budget vis a vis human resources, even if I'm somewhat skeptical there's a particular good one to be had, here, considering what else seems to be considered acceptable. It's just that this particular issue is so blatantly fucking not that I'm not entirely sure how to word an appropriate response.

[Neonivek]

I know, it is that the only REAL purpose of the wall is as a monument to American power, money, and engineering.

But there MUST be better monuments one could build with that money.

Abe Luncheon would be displeased.

[smjjames]

I know, it is that the only REAL purpose of the wall is as a monument to American power, money, and engineering.

But there MUST be better monuments one could build with that money.

Abe Luncheon would be displeased.

How about a 71 story solid platnium statue of Trump? Complete with dwarves randomly trapped inside.

[MrRoboto75]

I know, it is that the only REAL purpose of the wall is as a monument to American power, money, and engineering.

But trump's other favorite country, China, beat us to that like thousands of years ago.  And that one's already better than our planned one!

[Egan_BW]

And a whole bunch of people died building it, and it wasn't effective for its stated function. :V

[Mech#4]

I know, it is that the only REAL purpose of the wall is as a monument to American power, money, and engineering.

But there MUST be better monuments one could build with that money.

Abe Luncheon would be displeased.

How about a 71 story solid platnium statue of Trump? Complete with dwarves randomly trapped inside.

And a whole bunch of people died building it, and it wasn't effective for its stated function. :V

Spreading miasma?

[SalmonGod]

[Starver]

And a whole bunch of people died building it, and it wasn't effective for its stated function. :V

Spreading miasma?

It needs to be an underground Wall-Of-Dead-Haulers, obviously.

(With the slogan "Drain The Swamp Atlantic And Pacific!" carved alongside all the images of Cheesy Wotsits.)

[ChairmanPoo]

What if the Solar Wall was manned by trans soldiers?