Well, it turns out that’s about what the government spends on “social programs.” You know, like welfare—the thing that we were supposedly ending? Truth is, of course, that over the last decade, the number of poor people and hungry people in the US has been rising, not falling, so maybe we should rethink that “ending welfare as we know it” mantra, and start thinking about improving the lives of those at the bottom of the ladder. That extra $90 billion, by doubling social programs—especially if it was spent on housing and job creation—would go a long way towards making America a better place for all. It would also reduce crime significantly, meaning we’d have a whole lot of money freed up that currently goes to police and prisons, so we could spent that money on other good stuff too.
So who’s going to make this eminently sensible proposal?
I’m frankly sick to death of hearing about how “tough” our next president is going to be.
Our current president has shown just what being tough is good for: nothing. The country is less safe, we’ve got 80,000 returned soldiers suffering from life-long injuries, we’ve made enemies out of friends all over the world, and this country’s been going down the tube, with joblessness rising, the economy teetering and the once mighty dollar headed for Third World currency status.
Until I hear political candidates start talking about slashing military spending—and I mean on the order of 75 percent, none of this nickel-and-dime stuff, and about funding the things that really need funding—I’m not even listening to these moronic campaigns.
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DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based journalist and columnist. His latest book, co-authored by Barbara Olshansky, is "The Case for Impeachment" (St. Martin's Press, 2006 and now available in paperback). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
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