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Comment: Last year you spent more than a month's rent on Pentagon contractors
By Lindsay Koshgarian
The writer is one federal budget expert who directs the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was shared by OtherWords.org.
Have you ever wondered where your taxes go? Every year, the Institute for Political Studies publishes atax billso you can find out.
One item always stands out: The Pentagon and the contractors who profit from it.
In 2023, the average taxpayer spent$2,974 at the Pentagon. Of that, only $705 went to salaries for troops, who often must rely on programs like food stamps. A much larger amount went to $1,748the Pentagon's corporate contractors. That's more than the average American monthly rent of $1,372.
From Lockheed Martin (HEADfederal contractor and longtime weapons manufacturer) for SpaceX (which Elon Musk runs when he's not launchingracistANDantisemitictropes), these corporations do not need your support. And they don't act with your well-being in mind.
Their enrichment comes at the cost of better health care, education, clean air and water, disaster management and more. Here are just five examples from the average tax bill.
1. Pentagon contractors ($1,759) versus the child tax credit ($110).
In 2024,The Pentagon's budget is expected to increase by $27 billion, bringing the department's budget to about $825 billion. About half of that will go to for-profit contractors.
Meanwhile, an expansion of the child tax credit during the pandemic succeededhalving the child poverty rate progress that was reversed almost immediately when the extension expired at the end of 2021.
Lifting children out of poverty can have lifelong effects on their health, education and employment. Isn't that worth more than a small fraction of our expenses military contracts?
2. Lockheed Martin ($249) vs. Renewable Energy ($11).
Lockheed Martin is perhaps best known as the creator ofAlways an over-budget F-35 fighter jet, never readywhich hasit spontaneously combusted three separate times. Despite claims that programs like this are job creators, Lockheed recently made moves tocutting jobs.
Meanwhile, despite the need to address climate change and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the average taxpayer contribution to renewable energy programs amounts to just $11.
3. Boeing ($87) vs. Federal Aviation Administration ($23).
From commercialthe flights that crashedto others whoit fell apartin the air, Boeing's recent commercial safety record has been remarkable. However, the company is also among the Pentagon's top five contractors. Among others military the plane, is the manufacturer ofThe V-22 Osprey that crashed and killed eight service membersin November.
The FAA, of course, isUnderstaffed, underfunded government regulator responsible for commercial flight safety.Maybe we should spend more on regulating companies like Boeing than subsidizing them?
4. Federal prisons ($32.29) versus substance use and mental health programs ($31.69).
Around2 million people incarcerated nationwide, about one in three Americans will have an immediate family member who has been in prison or jail. Your federal income tax dollars support this system, which often treats substance use and mental health challenges as issues best confined to a prison cell.
By contrast,Help for substance use disorder or mental health issues can still be very hard to get, as any affected person or family member will tell you. What if we spent more on treating these health conditions than punishing them?
5. Foreign military ($112) vs. wildfire management ($14).
From Afghanistan and Iraq to Ukraine and now Gaza, it feels like the US is always starting a war, fighting a war, or subsidizing a war. These wars aremore and moreunpopular and they don't make us safer.
Meanwhile, agrowing number of Americanshave experienced direct orindirect effectsof fires in recent years. These disasters costover $394 billion annually.Is this threat not worth addressing?
Pentagon contractors want us to think we need what they sell, but misplaced priorities like these mean they were actually worse.
Spread the word: every taxpayer deserves better.
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