“A hundred wagon loads of thoughts will not pay a single ounce of debt.” ~ Italian saying
The reengineering of the federal budget was a source of political tension throughout 2017. Events came to a head in the fall with increased transparency on the refusal to respect federal finance laws, including additional disclosure on the missing money. Here’s the chronology on increased transparency regarding money missing from federal government accounts:
On September 23, 2017, Dr. Mark Skidmore published his report describing what is now $21 trillion in undocumentable adjustments at the Departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development. The following week the Solari Report published an interview with Dr. Skidmore.
Dr. Skidmore’s report and the supporting documentation were consolidated into the new Missing Money website at Solari shortly thereafter.
After the report and supporting documentation was published, the HUD and DOD OIG documentation was taken off line.
Lockheed Martin ran many of the relevant payment and information systems at DOD and HUD. Lockheed spun out their subsidiary with primary legal liability after the end of fiscal 2015 and before the publication of the 2015 audit.
Another major private party to any illegal transactions was the NY Fed (and its member banks) as the depository for the US Treasury and as manager of the Exchange Stabilization Fund. The NY Fed has no way of “spinning out” their legal liability. So it was remarkable that there was a fire at the NY Fed on Saturday October 7, said to be caused by the use of an old fireplace.
On December 3, USA Watchdog published an excellent interview with Dr. Skidmore
On December 7, DOD announced the first Agency-wide audit – a plan that had been underway for several years.
- Officials Announce First DoD-Wide Audit, Call for Budget Certainty
- Pentagon Announces First-Ever Audit Of The Department Of Defense
On December 8, Forbes publishes a story co-authored by Dr. Skidmore and Dr. Laurence Kotlikoff on the missing money
Subsequent to the Forbes article, which described the disappearing documentation and emphasized the fact that we maintained copies on our server, DOD and HUD OIG republished some of the supporting documentation on new URLs. DOD insisted that they were simply reorganizing their websites.
On December 11, Michigan State University published an article on Dr. Skidmore’s efforts.
On December 12, Trump signed a $700 billion defense appropriation. Lockheed receives funding for 90 F-35s – an approximately $8 billion order. It also authorizes the creation of a Space Corp under the Air Force.
- Trump Signs $700B Defense Budget into Law
- House, Senate negotiators agree to add funding for 20 extra F-35s
The new DOD budget is committed to both rebuilding the core military and maintaining a Middle East and global presence. The combination is a budget buster.
- The US Military Is Occupying 53 of 54 African Nations
- The US is fighting terrorism in 76 countries around the world – here’s where
Increased budgets and global arms sales were promoted by tensions with North Korea.
- North Korean Missile “Blows Up” During Launch; President Trump Aware, Has “No Further Comment”
- China Warns North Korea Situation Has Hit “Tipping Point”, Threatens “Never Before Seen” Measures
- Senators Told North Korea Nuclear Threat Is Urgent
- U.S. May Launch Strike if North Korea Reaches for Nuclear Trigger
- The U.S. Has An ‘Active Cyber War Underway’ To Thwart The North Korean Nuclear Threat
- ‘Declaration of war’: Russian MPs Blast US Plans to Enforce N. Korea Sanctions on Foreign Territory
- Pyongyang Slams Israel as ‘Disturber of Peace Armed with Illegal Nukes Under US Patronage’
Despite the financial spigots turned wide open, Navy accidents kept happening in the Pacific in 2017. Satisfactory explanations have not been forthcoming. It looks to us like a “hot” war over the sea-lanes in the Pacific oceans may be underway.
- Why Do U.S. Navy Ships Keep Crashing?
- US to Pause Naval Operations Worldwide After USS John McCain Collision
- Ten Sailors Missing, Five Injured after US Warship Collides with Oil Tanker Near Singapore
- U.S. Navy to Relieve Admiral of Command after Collisions
- USS Fitzgerald Leadership Removed, Details of Collision Aftermath Released
- Considering the USS Fitzgerald Incident
- What’s Really Going on with those Expensive Aegis Class Missile…Part One
- What’s Really Going on with those Expensive Aegis Class Missile…Part Two
- Navy Returns to Compasses and Pencils to Help Avoid Collisions at Sea
The US economic and financial dependency on military budgets and sales continued to grow with significant promotion from President Trump. The US is the largest weapons exporter in the world, accounting for $9.9 billion exported out of $31 billion in global major weapons trade in 2016.
The President personally made significant effort to promote US arms sales during 2017. In January 2018, the President made it clear that the emphasis on arm sales will continue.
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