Military Budget: They Gotta Be Kidding

Latest

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 
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

The Distortion of Campus Protests over Gaza

Helen Benedict, a Columbia University journalism professor, describes how the right wing has used accusations of anti-semitism against campus protests to distract attention from the death toll in Gaza.

Shawn Fain: May Day 2028 Could Transform the Labor Movement—and the World

UAW Shawn Fain discusses a general strike in 2028 and the collective power and unity needed to win the demands of the working class.

Strawberry Workers May Day March

Photos by David Bacon of Strawberry workers parading through Santa Maria on a May Day march, demanding a living wage.  Most are indigenous Mixtec migrants from Oaxaca and southern Mexico. 

Professor’s Violent Arrest Spotlights Brutality of Police Crackdown on Campus Protests

The violent arrest of Emory University Prof. Caroline Fohlin April 25 in Atlanta shows the degree to which democracy is being trampled as resistance to the Gaza genocide grows.

Youth in the Era of Climate Change

Earth Day is a reminder that Mother Earth pleads with us to care for her. The youth are listening, holding a global climate strike April 19. Although we are still far from reaching net zero emissions by 2050, it's time to be assertive with our world leaders for change will give our grandchildren a healthy Mother Earth and create a world of peace.

More from the People's Tribune