this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
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Working class, independent, American nationalist.
The government should be working for the people, not for corporations. Sadly both parties would rather continue shipping out manufacturing jobs while pretending a few chip factories are a major victory for the working class.
It's crazy how we spend billions on relief for people in poor countries, but when it comes to helping the American citizen we either "can't afford it" or are supposed to go on welfare, as if that's something desirable.
I'm a trans woman and the stuff that affects my life the most deal with are affording food, shelter, healthcare and bills. I'm going to guess that's the same for the majority of Americans.
The amount we spend in foreign aid is basically negligible (wars donβt count as aid).
By far, our biggest expenses are internal. The military-industrial complex and inefficient healthcare make almost all other spending a drop in the bucket.
I think the "billions on relief in poor countries while we can't afford helping Americans at home" bit is a false dichotomy. The money spent on other countries isn't to help their people, it's to curry favor with foreign governments and advance American empire.
Really, the people who are stealing our rightful wealth are not poor people in other countries (or "welfare queens" at home) but the rich and powerful who aren't paying their fair share.
It's not a dichotomy, it's just an observation of fact. We give corporations so many breaks and benefits, help feed billions across the globe, but can't seem to focus on giving people worthwhile jobs that they can thrive on. There's no reason it must be this way.
We clearly do not disagree on where the problem lies.
I just don't think framing the issue as "Us, the first-world middle class vs. Them, impoverished third-worlders" is a helpful one. We are both victims of Imperialism. Nationalism can be important for these third-world countries but I think it's counterproductive in America as it exists.
What percentage of the US annual budget is spent on foreign aid?