The country and the world have watched the high drama and serious reality of the situation in Washington, D.C. over the past few months as the struggle with the debt crisis loomed.
The last minute deal may have temporarily assuaged the anxiety of the stock markets, but it did little to quell the disturbing reality of the gross separation between rich and poor even in the USA and the vested interests that hold sway over important decisions involving the future of all Americans, especially the poor and those on fixed incomes.
Despite cuts in the defense department, precious little discussion time was spent in Congress or on the endless stream of news reports on war as the key factor in our current debt. In the past twenty years, we have fought three wars; two of whom are still active. In the same twenty years our debt has escalated beyond control. The economic cost of wars has exceeded our financial ability to support them. The morality of them is another issue.
Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. warned us about a country that spent more on war than on social programs. We would expect such a statement of belief from Dr. King. However, another of our country’s recent leaders, President Dwight Eisenhower also warned of the impending danger of a country whose economy and power rests in its military.
In his Farewell Address to the American people on January 17, 1961, President Eisenhower said:
“The conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence - economic, political, even spiritual - is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend the grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
What President Eisenhower warned against has taken place. The military-industrial complex costs taxpayers almost half of every dollar spent in the United States budget. In the Federal USA budget for 2011, 48% went to the military-complex, which includes, all the expenses for current wars, debts from past wars, arms development and research, including nuclear. In money, 48% is $1,398.00 billion dollars. Nuclear weapons research and development alone has risen to almost $10 billion dollars from $8 billion in 2010. It is projected to be at $12 billion by 2020.
In contrast, the same budget allows for 38% of every dollar to be spent on all programs related to human resources, including health and education. In the past Catholic schools sold candy bars to fund their schools; today public schools are hawking the candy at supermarkets and malls to fund their school sports’ and music programs. Bake sales and candy sales simply don’t work any more than the homeless person selling pencils on the street corner.
Financial decisions reflect priorities in personal lives and in social structures. It is morally disturbing what our financial picture says about our priorities as a nation. We have learned this summer that an economy based on the military is also economically devastating.
Sister Patricia McCarthy is provincial for the Congregation of Notre Dame. For many years she taught troubled children and victims of abuse.
