Ben Norton: Debt ceiling hypocrisy: U.S. boosts military budget while restricting food stamps for poor
The Debt ceiling bill reflects the bipartisan consensus in Washington: cut social spending to further enrich military contractors. -Stephen Semler
The Debt ceiling bill reflects the bipartisan consensus in Washington: cut social spending to further enrich military contractors. -Stephen Semler
Governance exists. But it is not seen. It is certainly not democratic. It is done by the armies of lobbyists and corporate executives, from the fossil fuel industry, the arms industry, the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street. Governance happens in secret.
How much of the $858 billion authorized by the FY2023 NDAA will be transferred to military contractors? I estimate $452 billion.
"The profits from fossil fuels, and the lifestyle the burning of fossil fuels afforded to the privileged on the planet, overroad a rational response. The failure is homicidal."
When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent the cost of a barrel of oil into the triple digits, the fossil-fuel companies and their friends in government, always on the lookout for profitable opportunities amid market chaos, responded predictably.
Why, despite public opposition, do military budgets continue to rise and arms sales to authoritarian governments continue? Find some answers here.
“Let us not become the evil we deplore.” And with those words, Oakland Congressmember Barbara Lee rocked the House, the Capitol, this country, the world, the lone voice of more than 400 congressmembers.
Has your elected official taken the pledge?
“In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.” George Orwell
"The main role of the federal government under capitalism is to maintain the capitalist economic system and set the general conditions by which large corporations and billionaires are able to accrue more and more profit."
"While Congress wrangled over modest emergency pandemic relief for Americans, the nation of Israel receives $3.8 billion annually—and even more covert aid—with barely a whisper of debate."
"The cost of building and maintaining the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, or GBSD, as it’s known, could swell to $264 billion over the coming decades, with much of the money going to military contractors, including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics."