In fiscal year 2015, Pentagon and related spending will total $598 billion, accounting for 54 percent of all federal discretionary spending. That's roughly the size of the next seven largest military budgets around the world, combined.
The U.S. military is getting out of hand in fueling wars abroad–even the ones that haven’t begun. Last month, Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin visited the Philippines, where they agreed to boost the country's military by $500 million yearly for five years–a total of $2.5 billion–for what some claim feels like a new cold war with China.
Addressing police violence in our communities requires reckoning with America’s militarized foreign policy that leads to wars abroad and at home.
It’s spring, and that means Americans are filing their tax returns. Most will know whether they get a refund, but how many know where their tax dollars really go?
In the face of massive suffering in Gaza and disregard for international law by the Israeli government, the U.S. must not provide additional military aid or weapons that would cause more deaths. Instead, the U.S. should use its considerable diplomatic strength to call for an immediate ceasefire.
