In his 1961 farewell address, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower warned against a “military-industrial complex.” That year, U.S. military spending was $49.88 billion, less than $500 billion in today’s dollars.
According to the War Resisters League, 2022 U.S. military spending for past and present warfare is $1.704 trillion. This accumulates in our national debt, to be paid by our children and grandchildren.
The stack of $1,000 bills the U.S. government annually spends on the military is more than 115 miles high.
Today’s out-of-control U.S. military-industrial complex provoked and sustains the war in Ukraine, is inciting a potential war with China and fomenting the threat of nuclear war. U.S. militarism is a threat to all inhabitants of our fragile planet.
Speak out against the outrage of warmaking and support the Mennonite Church USA Peace Tax Fund. Vote for candidates on Nov. 8 who will work to redirect the military portion of your federal taxes toward the nonviolence of addressing real human and environmental needs.
Harold A. Penner, Akron, Pa.
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