News
- US Arms Sales Make Up Most of Global Market
August 28th, 2012New York Times, August 27th, 2012: Weapons sales by the United States tripled in 2011 to a record high….more than three-quarters of the global arms market, valued at $85.3 billion in 2011. Continue Reading…
- Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan
August 17th, 2012Mr. Ryan professes to be a defense hawk, though the true conservatives of modern times… would have had no use for the neoconconservative imperialism that the G.O.P. cobbled from policy salons run by Irving Kristol’s ex-Trotskyites three decades ago. These doctrines now saddle our bankrupt nation with a roughly $775 billion “defense” budget in a world where we have no advanced industrial state enemies and have been fired (appropriately) as the global policeman. Continue Reading…
- MBTA Budget Crisis: It’s Not About Scarcity
March 29th, 2012Boston Occupier, March 13th, 2012: each year the US government wastes close to a trillion dollars (that’s one thousand billion!) on wars and other military spending. Such military spending necessarily means that legitimate public needs like public transportation (as well as healthcare and education) go neglected. There is a direct line to be drawn from the great sucking sound of the Pentagon budget, to the screeching breaks of trains that have not been replaced since the 1960s, when US bombs rained down mercilessly on Vietnam (rather than, say, on Iraq or Afghanistan). Continue Reading…
- We’re already paying a ‘War Tax’ at the gas pump
March 25th, 2012Dorchester Reporter, March 8th, 2012: We’re paying extra for gas because of rising tensions in the Middle East and especially the scare over a possible US or Israeli attack on Iran. In effect, we’re paying a “war tax” at the gas pump, and the cost will only get higher unless we put aside the talk of war and get down to serious diplomacy. Continue Reading…
- Cleveland Passes New Priorities Resolution
February 29th, 2012- On February 27 the Cleveland City Council passed a strongly worded resolution calling for Pentagon spending cuts and bringing our tax dollars home to struggling Ohio communities. The vote was 18 to 1. The resolution was modeled on those of 15 other U.S. cities, including Portland ME, Durham NC, Binghamton NY, Los Angeles, Richmond and San Francisco CA. Click here to download resolution copy.
- The Apocalyptics
January 11th, 2012Foreign Policy in Focus, January 10th, 2012: this might be one of the last chances to do a behind-the-music look at the Republicans who want to rock the White House and the world.…who exactly has been writing the lyrics for The Apocalyptics? Continue Reading…
- Apple, Google, Microsoft Sitting on 58 Billion in Overseas Profits, Blackmailing US to Avoid Taxes
June 29th, 2011Apple, Google, Microsoft Sitting on 58 Billion in Overseas Profits, Blackmailing Us to Avoid Taxes
http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/151413By Les Leopold, AlterNet
- Biggest Tax Avoiders Would Win on U.S. Tax Break
June 29th, 2011
By Jesse Drucker – Jun 27, 2011 9:01 PM PT
- Detroit Town Hall for Good Jobs Now
June 29th, 2011Speak Out: For Good Jobs Now – Rebuild the American Dream
Speak Out: For Good Jobs Now – Rebuild the American Dream
Speak Out: For Good Jobs Now – Rebuild the American Dream
Monday, June 27, 2011 during the “Speak Out: For Good Jobs Now – Rebuild the American Dream” event featuring Representatives Keith Ellison (MN- CPC Co-Chair), John Conyers (MI), Hansen Clarke (MI), Marcy Kaptur (OH), and Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church located in Detroit, MI. Photos by Leona McElevene, State Coordinator, Michigan Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)
View full sized photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pdamerica/sets/72157626941615269/
- Strapped States Curb Spending on Safety Net
June 6th, 2011Wall Street Journal, June 4th 2011: Together, 33 states have an aggregate $75.1 billion of projected budget gaps in the coming fiscal year, after closing nearly $230 billion of shortfalls from 2009 to 2011. Continue Reading…
- Five Eye-Opening Facts About Our Bloated Post-9/11 ‘Defense’ Spending
May 28th, 2011Alternet, May 28th, 2011. This week, the National Priorities Project (NPP) released a snapshot of U.S. “defense” spending since September 11, 2001. Continue Reading…
- New Evidence on Public Pensions and States’ Budget Crises
May 24th, 2011May 20th, 2011: [T]oday’s pension funding gap of $1 trillion has been caused all along by politicians diverting pension plan contributions to cut business taxes and for spending elsewhere. Continue Reading…
- It’s Time to Bring Our Troops Home
May 24th, 2011Huffington Post, May 19th, 2011: We have spent over $1.3 trillion on the security of Iraq and Afghanistan while at home, America’s cities are struggling to balance their budgets and maintain needed public services….The federal government could provide crucial support by downsizing our commitment to Afghanistan and redirecting resources toward local economies. Continue Reading…
- “Include the People’s Budget,” Congresspeople tell Obama
May 13th, 2011Forty-one Members of Congress have signed a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to include the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) leadership in ongoing bipartisan budget negotiations. The CPC People’s Budget proposal is the only budget introduced that eliminates the deficit and generates a surplus by 2021. By contrast, the House Republican budget increases the deficit by $6 trillion in the same timeframe, and adds more than $1 trillion in tax breaks for millionaires and corporate special interests.
Over the past several weeks, the People’s Budget has received praise from economists and financial experts across the political spectrum. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman called it “genuinely courageous,” and noted that it “achieves this without dismantling the legacy of the New Deal.” The Washington Post writes, “The Congressional Progressive Caucus plan wins the fiscal responsibility derby thus far.” Economist Jeffrey Sachs labeled it “A bolt of hope…humane, responsible, and most of all sensible.” The conservative Economist magazine dubbed it “the courageous Progressive Caucus budget.” A coalition of think tanks also recently rated it the most responsible budget introduced.
- We Got Osama bin Laden, Now Let’s Get Out of Afghanistan
May 11th, 2011Daily Kos, May 10th, 2011
100,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan is not what’s going to make us safer from terrorism…. That’s why the People’s Budget fully funds our withdrawal and puts the rest of the savings into reducing the deficit and rebuilding America. Continue Reading…
- After OBL: McGovern/Jones Push for Real Withdrawal Plan
May 10th, 2011Huffington Post, May 6th, 2011
The bipartisan legislation is unique in that it carries with it the prospect of a roll call, in which every member of the House will have to choose a side: open-ended war in Afghanistan, or a clear plan for military withdrawal? Continue Reading…
- Calls Grow for Afghan Pullout
May 4th, 2011Boston Globe, May 4th, 2011
Osama bin Laden’s death fueled demands yesterday for a hastened drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan, despite warnings that a rapid withdrawal could lead that nation into chaos. Continue Reading…
- With bin Laden’s death, U.S. sees a chance to hasten the end of the Afghan war
May 4th, 2011Washington Post, May 4th, 2011
The Obama administration is seeking to use the killing of Osama bin Laden to accelerate a negotiated settlement with the Taliban and hasten the end of the Afghanistan war, according to U.S. officials involved in war policy. Continue Reading…
- Bin Laden is Dead. Can We Go Home Now?
May 3rd, 2011War Times, May 2nd, 2011
Now that Osama bin Laden has died in Pakistan, no possible justification remains for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, let alone Iraq. Continue Reading….
- A Radical Plan for Cutting the Defense Budget and Reconfiguring the U.S. Military
May 2nd, 2011Foreign Policy, April 26th, 2011
Estimated annualized savings resulting from withdrawals from overseas garrisons and restructuring the United States’ forward military presence: $239 billion. Continue Reading….
- Panetta Comes Armed With Background in Budget Fights
April 28th, 2011New York Times, April 28th, 2011
Leon E. Panetta is set to take over leadership of the Defense Department while the United States is fighting on three fronts, but he was selected for the job in no small part because his war at home will be with Congress over the Pentagon budget. And in that battle, defense budget analysts said Wednesday, he comes unusually well armed. Continue Reading…
- Costly inheritance: How to tackle the triple root of US debt that has been passed to us
April 27th, 2011Linda Bilmes, Boston Globe, April 27th, 2011
[W]e cannot restore the country to solvency without also facing up to the unpleasant siblings of income inequality and military overstretch….We spend $600 billion per year on the “base’’ military budget — but anything we ask it to do — like fighting wars or distributing humanitarian aid — costs extra. It’s like having a fire department that charges extra if your house catches on fire. Continue Reading…
- Military Officers Lay Out “A National Strategic Narrative”
April 27th, 2011A Navy captain and Marine colonel, with top-level blessing, are proposing to shift from “hard power” to invest in education, health, and social services plus the sustainable use of natural resources. Whatever you think of their pitch for “smart power,” divisions are emerging among U.S. elites, and we need to make the most of the opportunity. As they said on NPR’s “On Point” April 26: “There are lots of strategies out there [so we decided] we don’t need a strategy, we need a story that would resonate across America.”
That’s a good imperative for us. Meanwhile, read their paper at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/A%20National%20Strategic%20Narrative.pdf
- How to Save a Trillion Dollars
April 26th, 2011Time Magazine, April 14th, 2011
For too long, an uninterested and distracted citizenry has been content to leave the messy business of national defense to those with bottom-line reasons for force-feeding it like a foie gras goose. It’s long past time, Ike might have added today, for U.S. taxpayers to demand that its government spend what is needed to defend the country not a penny more. Continue Reading…
- Oregon labor leaders tell their Congresspeople: end the war and rebuild our communities
April 22nd, 2011“Oregonians have already spent more than $3 billion on the war, and there is no end in sight,” said this tax day letter from 13 state labor leaders. “President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget includes devastating cuts that impact the poor and working class—from low income home heating assistance to community service block grants to Pell grants—while allocating another $107 billion to continue the war in Afghanistan.”
- Deficit Debate Ignores War, Labor Leaders Speak Out
April 20th, 2011LA Progressive, April 19th, 2011
As longtime labor leader Bob Muehlenkamp points out, three columns in the Washington Post, totalling 2,853 words, completely ignore the trillions spent on the Long War in discussing the deficits. It’s ridiculous to claim to be a deficit hawk and a war hawk at the same time. Continue Reading…
- A Vote on the People’s Budget is a Vote on the Wars
April 9th, 2011Daily Kos, April 14th, 2011
The Congressional Progressive Caucus People’s Budget would end emergency war funding beginning in FY 2013. Furthermore, the People’s Budget would cut the “base” military budget (that is, the “not for the current wars” or “future wars” military budget.) Continue Reading…
- Bring War Dollars Home by Closing Down Bases
April 9th, 2011Foreign Policy in Focus, March 31, 2011
Americans are weary of war, especially during an economic crisis that has threatened jobs, health plans, and pensions most families need to survive. The hopeful news is that a grassroots movement of ordinary people across U.S. towns and cities has launched the New Priorities campaign, uniting under the demand to “bring the troops and war dollars home” by cutting defense spending instead of benefits, jobs, and basic government services.
http://www.fpif.org/articles/bring_war_dollars_home_by_closing_down_bases
- Hartford City Council Adopts “Bring Our War $$ Home” Resolution
April 8th, 2011http://newprioritiesnetwork.org/resources/resolution-adopted-by-hartford-city-council-32811