Military Budget: They Gotta Be Kidding

Latest

 
The U.S. defense budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2018, is $716 billion. It’s one of the biggest defense budgets in modern American history. And if you add in other costs, actual military spending is nearly $1 trillion a year.
Consider these factoids:
• The amount of money labeled “wasted” or “lost” in Iraq just in 2007—$11 billion—could pay the annual salaries for 220,000 teachers.
• The Pentagon spends more on war than all 50 states combined spend on health, education, welfare and safety.
• The yearly cost of stationing one soldier in Iraq could feed 60 American families for a year.
• Each day in Afghanistan costs the government more than it did to build the entire Pentagon.
War is for the global billionaires, not for the people of the Earth. We were lied to in order to get us to support the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, and now the impending war against Venezuela. Isn’t it time to stop the lying, to change our priorities and to let the people live and prosper? The only change vehicle around is us. Let’s make it happen. And sooner rather than later! Can we stand another war?

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

‘We Need Urgent Global Climate Action’

Eighty-nine percent of people worldwide want their governments to do more to address the global climate crisis. Conference on tipping points says situation is urgent. Meanwhile U.S. govt does more to boost fossil fuel forms of energy.

May Day 2025: United We Will Win

International Worker’s Day is celebrated on May 1st around the world. Today, the entire U.S. working class, of which immigrants comprise an integral part, is under attack. The defense of immigrants is vital to the defense of the entire working class.

White School Officer Pepper-sprayed and Kneed Black Beaumont, TX Student, Complaint says. Will Feds Act?

A 6-second video, recorded by a teacher and reviewed by the Texas Observer, shows an officer grabbing a student’s hair, kneeing her in the face, and knocking the 100-pound girl on her back.

Pope Francis Dies After Easter Plea to End War in Gaza

"In his final public message, Pope Francis decried the “terrible conflict” in Gaza.

Bring Union Brother Kilmar Home: His Deportation Is an Attack on All of Us

The deportation of union brother Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a gut punch to the labor movement, a slap in the face to every worker who dares to organize.

More from the People's Tribune