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The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

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Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#21

Post by mritterhoff »

analognoise wrote: post #20

I’d argue a country that spends $500 billion additional dollars on its military, after spending $800 billion a year, but nobody has healthcare, isn’t worth defending. We’re at the stage of open corruption now that this kind of thing isn’t called out for being as disgusting, but it is. It’s disgusting. This person is an evil ghoul.

Most Americans have some form of health insurance [1].

I'd argue that my country is worth defending, despite its many flaws.

1. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-28...

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#22

Post by yorwba »

lofaszvanitt wrote: post #18

Unrelated. After seeing some videos of people fighting on the UKR/RUS front. The first thing that struck me is, that people shoot like they are playing Counterstrike. Shooting in the air, in the ground, everywhere, just not on anything that resembles any enemy.

It's called "suppressive fire": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressive_fire

"The primary intended effect of suppressive fire is psychological. Rather than directly trying to kill enemy soldiers, it makes the enemy soldiers feel unable to safely perform any actions other than seeking cover. Colloquially, this goal is expressed as "it makes them keep their heads down" or "it keeps them pinned down". However, depending on factors including the type of ammunition and the target's protection, suppressive fire may cause casualties and/or damage to enemy equipment."

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#23

Post by lofaszvanitt »

yorwba wrote: post #22
lofaszvanitt wrote: post #18

Unrelated. After seeing some videos of people fighting on the UKR/RUS front. The first thing that struck me is, that people shoot like they are playing Counterstrike. Shooting in the air, in the ground, everywhere, just not on anything that resembles any enemy.

It's called "suppressive fire": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressive_fire " The primary intended effect of suppressive fire is psychological. Rather than directly trying to kill enemy soldiers, it makes the enemy soldiers feel unable to safely perform any actions other than seeking cover. Colloquially, this goal is expressed as "it makes them keep their heads down" or "it keeps them pinned down". However, depend…

Yeah I know about that, but there is no brain behind these mindless shootings. Just the instinct that if someone shoots at me I shoot back into nothingness.

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#24

Post by analognoise »

mritterhoff wrote: post #21
analognoise wrote: post #20

I’d argue a country that spends $500 billion additional dollars on its military, after spending $800 billion a year, but nobody has healthcare, isn’t worth defending. We’re at the stage of open corruption now that this kind of thing isn’t called out for being as disgusting, but it is. It’s disgusting. This person is an evil ghoul.

Most Americans have some form of health insurance [1]. I'd argue that my country is worth defending, despite its many flaws. 1. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-28...

About 50,000 Americans die a year due to lack of health insurance. Estimates are about 25k in 2006 years to 60-80k now.

Americans are more likely than any other nationality to see other Americans as bad, immoral: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/03/05/in-25-countr...

At least Americans have mostly come to realize the problem is other Americans.

It’s a little wild to run into someone willing to defend the place.

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#25

Post by MrDrMcCoy »

queenkjuul wrote: post #17

Can't help but wonder what the fuck the trillions of dollars has been doing all these years if not buying weapons Good to know the US can't even get its military right, though.

The problem is precisely that those trillions have been spent buying "better" weapons. What they should have been spent on is factories. All the lessons of WWII have been forgotten.

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#26

Post by JoBrad »

MrDrMcCoy wrote: post #25
queenkjuul wrote: post #17

Can't help but wonder what the fuck the trillions of dollars has been doing all these years if not buying weapons Good to know the US can't even get its military right, though.

The problem is precisely that those trillions have been spent buying "better" weapons. What they should have been spent on is factories. All the lessons of WWII have been forgotten.

I agree that the US is wildly overpaying for what it gets, but from what I can tell we are directing that money to US-based factories. Just because those factories are also producing improved weaponry doesn’t mean they can’t produce more basic ammo, albeit at lower volume. We don’t need full-scale production capacity when we’re not in a large-scale war.

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#27

Post by mritterhoff »

analognoise wrote: post #24
mritterhoff wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most Americans have some form of health insurance [1]. I'd argue that my country is worth defending, despite its many flaws. 1. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-28...

About 50,000 Americans die a year due to lack of health insurance. Estimates are about 25k in 2006 years to 60-80k now. Americans are more likely than any other nationality to see other Americans as bad, immoral: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/03/05/in-25-countr... At least Americans have mostly come to realize the problem is other Americans. It’s a little wild to run into someone willing to defend the pla…

You're moving the goalposts. There's tons we can do to improve US healthcare outcomes (we overspend compared to what we get [1]) by emulating what has succeeded in other countries. But that conversation and solution is different than "nobody has healthcare".

As to defense, I live here, as do the majority of the people I love and like. It's in my interest to have my country continue to exist as a sovereign nation with the ability to defend itself from foreign adversaries.

1. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy-vs-health...

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#28

Post by MrDrMcCoy »

JoBrad wrote: post #26
MrDrMcCoy wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is precisely that those trillions have been spent buying "better" weapons. What they should have been spent on is factories. All the lessons of WWII have been forgotten.

I agree that the US is wildly overpaying for what it gets, but from what I can tell we are directing that money to US-based factories. Just because those factories are also producing improved weaponry doesn’t mean they can’t produce more basic ammo, albeit at lower volume. We don’t need full-scale production capacity when we’re not in a large-scale war.

My point is more that we're not building factory capacity for the sorts of sustained output a large war would require.

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#29

Post by pstuart »

bigfatkitten wrote: post #16
pstuart wrote: post #3

We need a military that is well-equipped but also cost-conscious in how they are provisioned. The Military Industrial Complex is designed to extract as much cash from the coffers as possible without regard for the value added to national defense. This is yet another example of two sides yelling past each other where the Left simply insists on cutting military spending and the Right glorifies the military and salutes…

A large part of the problem is that the defense procurement process is so burdensome, in the interests of appearing to ensure value for money, that suppliers must wade through years of bureaucracy before they see a dime. This is why a $700 printed circuit assembly for a weapon system sells for $50,000, and why investors discourage startups from chasing defense business.

That's a great point, and I believe that it remains that way because the incumbents like it to keep the competition out.

If we had a real DOGE that would have been a prime target. That, and making the Pentagon an auditable entity.

Re: The U.S. Ammo Shortage Is Worse Than You Think

#30

Post by analognoise »

mritterhoff wrote: post #27
analognoise wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About 50,000 Americans die a year due to lack of health insurance. Estimates are about 25k in 2006 years to 60-80k now. Americans are more likely than any other nationality to see other Americans as bad, immoral: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/03/05/in-25-countr... At least Americans have mostly come to realize the problem is other Americans. It’s a little wild to run into someone willing to defend the pla…

You're moving the goalposts. There's tons we can do to improve US healthcare outcomes (we overspend compared to what we get [1]) by emulating what has succeeded in other countries. But that conversation and solution is different than "nobody has healthcare". As to defense, I live here, as do the majority of the people I love and like. It's in my interest to have my country continue to exist as a sovereign nation with…

Oh, so some people have healthcare, but it costs multiple times more than it does other places, and we "only" lose a Vietnam War's worth of Americans a year due to medical insurance. My bad, that's okay then. /s

Every time I'm like "My fellow Americans are ghouls" somebody reminds me it's OK to lose 50,000 of them a year as long as we have a big military and can provide Israel with enough weapons for their genocide.

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