[Peace-discuss] FW: OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, THE HIDDEN COSTS OF WAR

[David Johnson]

My soon to be published article in the Public I.

 

David Johnson

World Labor Hour Radio

 

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, THE HIDDEN COSTS OF WAR

 

War is a racket ! This was a famous quote from retired U.S. Marine Corp
General Smedley Butler in 1934. Butler stated that ; " I spent 33 years in
the Marine Corp, most of my time being a high class muscle man for big
business, Wall Street, and the bankers". " In short, I was a racketeer for
capitalism". Butler was also quoted as saying that ; " War only profits the
few and costs the majority dearly".

According to a 2016 Brown University study, as of 2001, the U.S. Government
has spent $ 4.8 TRILLION dollars so far in Afghanistan and Iraq. Total Dept.
of Defense spending for this same period of time is over $ 10 TRILLION
dollars. Total annual military spending budgeted for 2017 is equal to $ 582
BILLION dollars and was expected to increase to $ 639 BILLION in 2018. But a
vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday Aug. 7th increased the
military budget to $ 696 BILLION. Almost $ 60 BILLION MORE than what
President Trump requested. 60 % of House Democrats voted for this increase.

The Dept. of Defense budget consumes 80 % of individual federal income tax
revenue, which in reality is a war tax equal to $ 3,200.00 per year for
every adult in America.

A large percentage of this war spending goes to various corporations that
sell ; weapons and other goods and services like spying on American
citizens. The exact amount spent is unknown because the Dept. of Defense has
refused to submit to an audit for the last 16 years, and none of the
contracted corporations that received tax payer money have ever been
audited. From the information that has been disclosed, the top five Dept. of
Defense vendor contractors ( Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon, General
Dynamics, United Technologies ) received about $ 75 BILLION DOLLARS in 2012
alone. 

 

OTHER HIDDEN COSTS OF WAR

 

The other hidden costs of war are even more obscure than the lack of
transparency in the Dept. of Defense's budget spending and are more long
term. In addition to long term care for wounded and psychologically
traumatized veterans, there is the neglect of deteriorating infrastructure
in the U.S., both physical and human.

A study by the Urban Land Institute in 2011 estimated that $ 2 TRILLION
dollars is needed NOW, to upgrade existing physical infrastructure in the
U.S. That is rapidly deteriorating from years of neglect. Roads, bridges,
dams, levees, water systems, sewer facilities, railroads and airports.
Another Flint water crisis is already beginning to happen in East Chicago,
Cleveland, Baltimore, as well as smaller cities and rural areas.

The study also states that if federal tax money is not allocated to upgrade
this existing deteriorating infrastructure that the federal gas tax will
need to be increased, local and state governments will need to create more
toll roads on existing highways, water and sewer bills will increase,
property and sales taxes will increase, and corporations will obtain
ownership of more public spaces, services and projects - leading to less
quality services and higher costs that always result with privatization.

The $ 2 TRILLION dollars needed is just for existing infrastructure
upgrades. So even more money would be required to bring the U.S. Into the
21st century with the building of high speed rail networks as well as the
improvement and expansion of ; solar, wind, and other clean energy
technologies that Western Europe and China already have.

Besides physical infrastructure there is human and environmental
infrastructure that desperately needs to be upgraded and expanded, like ;
environmental clean-up and pollution prevention equipment, full funding of
public K-12 schools, making post high school technical and higher education
free for all, a guaranteed minimum income, secure and expanded social
security and public sector pensions, and the start-up costs for an expanded
and improved Medicare for all single payer health care system.

For every $ 1 Billion dollars spent on the military 12,000 jobs are created.
But with the same billion dollars spent 16,000 clean energy jobs, 18,000
health care jobs, and 27,000 education jobs could be created. Not to mention
the vast number of jobs that would be created for the upgrade of current
infrastructure and the creation of 21st century infrastructure.

 

WHAT HAS MILITARY SPENDING ACCOMPLISHED ?

 

Apologists for the massive amounts of tax money spent on the military
attempt to argue that it is needed to protect the American people and
protect the world from terrorism. But according to a 2013 WIN / Gallup
international poll conducted in 65 countries which asked the question ; "
Which country poses the greatest threat to world peace ", the United States
was voted the biggest threat with Pakistan a distant 2nd place in the
opinion of 8 % of those polled. Obviously the rest of the world doesn't
think that the U.S. Government is conducting wars around the world to
protect them from terrorism. In fact it appears that the perception among
world inhabitants is that the U.S. Government is the cause of terrorist acts
and is conducting wars of aggression. If this perception is correct, why is
the U.S. Government conducting wars abroad and for whose benefit ? Could it
be the same special interests that Marine Corp General Smedley Butler
identified - large corporations, Wall Street investors, and the banking
industry ? Perhaps the oil and energy companies as well ? 

So called " defense " industry ( war profiteers ) increased profits and
stock performance over the last 16 years seems to indicate that. If General
Smedley Butler's other statements are true, that he was a racketeer for
capitalism and that wars only profit the few and cost the many dearly, then
it appears that the so called " War on Terror " that has been conducted the
last 16 years is really something else. Like the attempt to control ; energy
resources, Geo-political territory, low wage sweat shop labor costs, and to
increase the profits of the war profiteer industry ( aka. " defense "
contractors ).

In other words, protecting and expanding the wealth, privilege, and power of
the 1 % billionaire class ( the few ), which is costing us ( the many )
dearly in the loss of life and limb of U.S. Soldiers, our tax dollars, and
the physical and human infrastructure we depend upon to live.

This insanity must stop ! 

 

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