Economy Answers 2AC

Predators` failure is costing taxpayers millions

Herold `03 (Marc W. Herold Departments oI Economics and Women's Studies Whittemore
School oI Business & Economics University oI New Hampshire 'the Problem with the Predator
http://cursor.org/stories/dronesyndrome.htm)

This New Year was ushered in with yet another Predator Ialling Irom the sky into the remote
village oI Bashir Khan Jikhrani, a Iew miles Irom the U.S. air base in Jacobabad, Pakistan.
3

Since military operations began in AIghanistan, U.S. Iorces have lost both oI their Global Hawk
unmanned aerial vehicle |UAV| drones as well as six oI the smaller Predator RQ-1 unmanned
drones -- that is, more than 12 percent oI the total Predator Ileet oI 48 drones has been lost. In
early February, the Center Ior DeIense Intelligence reported,
"As oI the end oI November, there were about a dozen Predators being Ilown by the CIA and
U.S. Air Force in AIghanistan. However, there have been three Predator crashes so Iar (one in
November and two in the last week oI January), all reportedly the result oI the UAVs reacting
poorly to bad weather, so there are an estimated nine Predators in AIghanistan currently."
The total bill to U.S. taxpayers Ior lost drones in AIghanistan is over $55 million. The Global
Hawk is manuIactured by Northrup Grumman at Rancho Bernardo, CA, at a cost oI $15 million
each, while the Predator RQ-1 is made in San Diego, CaliIornia, by General Atomics, with a unit
price tag oI $ 4.5 million.
4


The National Deficit is already Skyrocketing
Neugebauer `09 (Congressman Randy Neugebauer 'National Debt Continuing to Rise
http://randy.house.gov/index.cIm?sectionid88&parentid21&sectiontree5&itemid784)

As the Iederal government continues spending at rates Iar greater than the revenue that is
available, it will once again hit the limit on its credit card. II you reach the limit on your credit
card, you have to stop spending. But the leadership in Congress doesn`t seem to get it. Spending
at the rates we have seen the past two years, using borrowed money, means that Congress has
reached the national borrowing limit. Now the House Leadership is looking at another increase
oI up to $1.8 trillion in the government`s ability to borrow, bringing the national debt limit to an
unprecedented $13.9 trillion.

The National Economy will Fail if Spending Continues
Econ `10 (Economic Collapse, journalism collection '11 Clear Signs That The U.S. Economy is Headed Into the
Toilet, http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/11-clear-signs-that-the-u-s-economy-is-headed-into-the-toilet)
The vast majority of the talking heads on television are still speaking of the current economic collapse as if it
is a temporary "recession" that will soon be over. So Iar, the vast majority oI the American people seem to
believe this as well, although Ior many Americans there is a very deep gnawing in the pit oI their stomachs that is
telling them that there is something very, very wrong this time around. The truth is that the foundations of
the U.S. economy have been destroyed by an orgy of government, corporate and individual debt that has gone
on for decades. It was the greatest party in the history of the world, but now the party is over. The Iollowing
are 11 signs Irom just this past month that show that the U.S. economy is headed into the toilet and will not be
recovering.... #1) When even Wal-Mart is closing stores you know things are bad. Wal-Mart announced on Monday
that it will close 10 money-losing Sam's Club stores and will cut 1,500 jobs in order to reduce costs. So iI even
Wal-Mart has to shut down stores, what chance do other retailers have?