this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2023
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A Boring Dystopia
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I really don't get how the US can afford billions of dollars to help Ukraine and Israel in their wars but can't help their citizens. (I know war is profitable)
Don't get me wrong I'm glad the US is one of the countries aiding Ukraine but shouldn't they help their own first?
It's not "can't", it's "won't".
No CEO is getting a big paycheck for helping homeless people, so no one cares.
This is what endgame capitalism looks like. The endless search for ever-increasing profits isn't sustainable and it ends up with the rich cannibalizing the system that they exploited to get rich.
Genuinely. If you take going into poverty or homelessness in the abstract - as violence - capitalism is enforced by violence. Work or suffer the consequences.
If you don't participate you get evicted and your record is fucked. If you're homeless the cops come and destroy your housing and you're left with even less than before.
There isn't an option to not participate that does not end in violence from our lovely government.
They can easily do both and have money to spare to resurface every road probably.
Idk could be false
The problem is the military cut in their budget is more important than infrastructure, education, health care, etc.
The US being a country that prints its own currency and isnt tied to any trading partners the way the European Union is, our government can basically create infinite debt and it sorta doesnt matter. Very abstract concept that I don't grasp. But yeah we can afford it, we just print money or whatever. Also billions is not a lot of money, and that money was already being allocated to the military budget, and that money was earmarked to help our military industrial complex which it is absolutely doing.
Yeah we really shouldn't be wasting our money, like on the salaries of people that care more about whining in Congress and on FOX News than creating laws to actually help our country.
Most of the money "spent" on military aid is "selling" materiel US military would have to write off and recycle. Recycling would be more expensive than giving it away. The rest of the cost is shipping, training and accounting costs. Most of that money stays in the US anyway, as salaries and payments for stuff.
How about before the military gets their hands on the money? The military gets a huge bulk of the budget compared to education and health care. I believe a trillion or two have gone missing and the Pentagon can't find it.
I would see Ukraine funding as an investment. Better supplied Ukraine means weaker Russia. Weaker Russia means lower need for defense spending in the future.
I am all for Americans getting better education and healthcare, but if you have to reduce defense spending, I would build less tanks and aircraft carriers, the ones you have would be enough for a while.