This is not your grandfather’s military-industrial complex.
by Ben Freeman and William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch
The military-industrial complex (MIC) that President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans about more than 60 years ago is still alive and well. In fact, it’s consuming many more tax dollars and feeding far larger weapons producers than when Ike raised the alarm about the “unwarranted influence” it wielded in his 1961 farewell address to the nation.
The statistics are stunning. This year’s proposed budget for the Pentagon and nuclear weapons work at the Department of Energy is $886 billion — more than twice as much, adjusted for inflation, as at the time of Eisenhower’s speech. The Pentagon now consumes more than half the federal discretionary budget, leaving priorities like public health, environmental protection, job training, and education to compete for what remains. In 2020, Lockheed Martin received $75 billion in Pentagon contracts, more than the entire budget of the State Department and the Agency for International Development combined.
This year’s spending just for that company’s overpriced, underperforming F-35 combat aircraft equals the full budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And as a new report from the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies revealed recently, the average taxpayer spends $1,087 per year on weapons contractors compared to $270 for K-12 education and just $6 for renewable energy.
Recent Posts
Politicians Should Stop Hiding Behind the “Two-State Solution” Fantasy
Take Action Now Claiming to know what’s best for Palestinians is built into a colonial mindset that has propelled intervention in the region for more…
Nebraska Wants Data Centers to Come Clean About Water Usage
Take Action Now The industry can be a black box of information. But as the state deals with persistent drought, residents and regulators want more…
Johnson Says Pentagon Needs More Money for ‘Fighting Communism on our own Shores’
Take Action Now Trump has threatened to deploy the military against the “enemy within” and has recently promoted the idea that “democratic socialism…
Trump Says Iran War Has Restarted, Potentially Resetting War Powers Clock
Take Action Now Democrats have said they may sue the president if he doesn’t adhere to previous War Powers votes.By Chris Walker, Truthout…