Finally, Mitt Romney and I agree on something. He says he wants a military second to none. Fair enough.

China is second to the U.S. in military spending at $106 billion a year. According to Christopher Hellman of the National Priorities Project, if you count all our military spending, including things not listed in the Defense Department budget such as the Energy Department's nuclear weapons program, the civilian intelligence programs (the CIA), and caring for wounded veterans, the U.S. spends about $1.3 trillion a year, about 12 times what China spends.

Following Mitt Romney's formula, we can cut $1 trillion, $150 billion and still outspend China by $44 billion a year. And the best part is -- no one has to lose their job. We can use some of the money saved to provide better care for veterans and other things we need, like more jobs for teachers and firefighters, for housing construction and mass transit, and for building clinics and schools.

Let's take Mitt up on his idea to cut military spending before he changes his mind.

Bill Distler

Bellingham