by scott

I just don't understand the benefits of a social-welfare state. Can someone help me understand it? (random post I know, but i couldn't think of anything deep and felt it was better to post than to not post at all.)

by scott

"presidential power... continued to approve when the Soviet threat and the broader Cold War led to permanent and still underappreciated expansions in the constitutional powers of the president. Rather than fully demobilize, as in past wars, the government maintained a multimillion-person peacetime standing army for the remainder of the Cold War, and in 1947 it established new institutions--including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council--to manage the peacetime military bureaucracy. These and similar institutions concentrated unprecedented authority in the president, which Harry Truman was quick to exercise. Most momentously, in 1950, without congressional authorization or consultation, he dispatched American troops to defend South Korea from North Korean attack and announced his intention to send four divisions (about 100,000 men) to a NATO force in Europe."

Interesting concept. That the power of the president in modern times is linked to the rise of military strength. Had the US demobilized like other wars, would Truman have had the power to move to South Korea? Who Johnson have the power to go into Vietnam? Would Bush had the power to go to Iraq?
Military force, which under the constitution is given to the president from congress. However, this check and balance no longer is needed since the military is at all times "ready for duty" at the call of the president.