Our Skyrocketing Military Spending Helps Pentagon Contractors—Not Ukraine
Less than one percent of the Pentagon’s new $782 billion budget is marked for Kyiv. About 50 times as much will go to for-profit corporations.
Less than one percent of the Pentagon’s new $782 billion budget is marked for Kyiv. About 50 times as much will go to for-profit corporations.
Rather than cheering for a potentially catastrophic escalation, there are other options for the United States to help the Ukrainian people.
Advocates need to pressure congress to invest in institutions that care about and prioritize domestic and international wellbeing, while divesting from systems of violence and harm.
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.
It’s not enough to say no to war. We urgently need our government to invest in real human needs for all, instead of further militarizing our planet.
This deal is a sign that there is still a long way to go before our funding priorities match our needs.
The idea that we have to either support military action and sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, or “do nothing,” is a false binary.
The spending priorities Biden listed in his State of the Union speech don’t match reality. It’s time to invest in the people of this country.
There’s no “national interest” worth risking nuclear conflict. But urgent diplomacy and humanitarian aid — and Russia’s own antiwar movement — could stop the suffering.
Guard members have stepped up heroically during the pandemic. If we invested in more than just the military, maybe they wouldn’t have to.
U.S. actions are raising tensions with Russia rather than resolving them.
While the U.S. sends quick weapons shipments and maneuvers troops, other urgent problems go unsolved.
Changing our budget priorities is key to repairing these harms.
Congress just passed a $778 billion military budget, and failed to pass the Build Back Better plan that costs less than a quarter of that annually.
Here’s what Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv can do to avoid the next world war.