Our Bloated Military Budget Just Exacerbates The Ukraine Crisis

Spending 12 times as much on our military as Russia didn’t prevent a war in Europe. It just deprived us of resources at home.

By Lindsay Koshgarian, OtherWords

Congress recently announced a bipartisan budget deal to fund the federal government through 2022. It’s a lopsided budget if there ever was one.

Even after America’s longest war in Afghanistan ended last year, military spending isn’t going down. In fact, it’s skyrocketing upwards — from $740 billion in the last budget set under Trump to $782 billion in this deal.

The same new budget offers just $730 billion to meet urgent domestic needs at home.

That means that even during a pandemic, supply chain crisis, and painful inflation, we’ll put more resources into the military and war than public health, education, green jobs, affordable housing, scientific and medical research, child care, and every other domestic need — combined.

Tank close-up with wheel, caterpillar and text US Army on it. Focus on side of military transport with white letters outdoors.

This special treatment for the Pentagon recklessly squanders precious resources that could be used to strengthen our families and communities against our compounding crises at home.

Families are fearful for their economic security. The pandemic hasn’t yet ended, schools and hospitals face ongoing staffing shortages, and the opioid epidemic is raging. Meanwhile our dependence on oil continues to fuel the climate crisis, while supporting corrupt authoritarian states and subjecting families to wild price swings.