LTE by David Delk, Chair of OR Progressive Party, was published by the Portland Tribune
Year
after year, America spends close to half of its discretionary budget
on military budgeting; more than the total of the next 11 countries
combined, including China and Russia. It is 12 times higher than the
military budget of Russia. It is said that this is the price of
security but still it did not stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It
appears to be a false security.
Biden’s
budget request for the Pentagon is $813 billion dollars, a $31
billion increase over last year’s budget. Congress will likely
increase that by another $25 billion or more.
Yet
our national and local media doesn’t ask questions of candidates
about this ever increasing military budget. No questions about how
this budget reflects the priorities of America, even as the needs of
the people cannot be provided for - housing, healthcare, or relief
from student and medical debt, for instance. Congress even seems to
be having a difficult time approving a new expenditure for fighting
the COVID pandemic!
It
seems that the world’s greatest democracy and “freest” press
cannot find its voice to ask important questions. One wonders if we
have a democracy at all, or, if we do, who our democracy represents.
Let’s
have a national discussion of priorities: war v. human needs. That
discussion could begin if the press did its job and asked some hard
questions. But we don’t have to wait on the “freest press”. We
can start asking the questions ourselves. Let’s do that now.