Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter member, Joel Inman, wrote the following letter to the Corvallis Gazette-Times editor. It was published May 7, 2017. We believe Joel presents a case that would appeal to fiscal conservatives and libertarians as well. If you follow the link to the comments section, you will note this argument does not resonate well with war hawks.
Letter: What good comes from military spending?
Apr 25, 2017 Updated May 6, 2017
As the president has outlined his suggested budget for the federal government, it is useful to reflect on the purpose of government spending.
In short, the government should either seek to solve a problem with spending or not spend at all and reduce the deficit. This is nonpartisan common sense.
So we should ask ourselves, “what problem is the president solving by increasing the defense budget?” The United States already outspends every possible enemy by factors of 4 or 5 to 1. NATO, which Donald Trump has criticized as being weak, outspends Russia by a factor of 8 to 1. There simply is no problem in defense that needs to be solved with more spending. In fact, it is easily the worst use of America’s economic might.
However, there are other problems in our community, our state, country, and the world where spending could be part of the solution. None of these get the attention they deserve in the president’s budget.
If you believe that the government, at all levels, should either solve problems or get out of the way, you will oppose the president’s budget priorities. No matter your political affiliations, you can see that no greater good can from increasing an already overwhelming military budget.
Joel Inman
Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter 