EVERY SOCIAL PROGRAM UNDER ATTACK
By Gavrielle Gemma
The ever-growing military budget of over $1 trillion a year —that’s 1,000,000,000,000 or a million millions— exists for two purposes. First, it lets the heads of profiteering war industries loot the treasury for themselves. Second, it enables the ultra-rich to loot the wealth of other countries through invasion and occupation. The U.S. military and its imperialist allies use lethal force to extract cheap labor and resources like oil from the countries they target, blocking any efforts of the workers to organize themselves and installing and supporting right-wing dictators.
There is nothing about the war budget that brings security or peace to the working class here or anywhere else. Yet year after year both Republicans and Democrats vote to increase it. This looting of the treasury is at the expense of everything workers need. Both parties of Wall Street set aside their differences and dance at the altar of war profits.
Trump has just demanded another increase in the war budget and a cut of $2.7 trillion —that’s about 3,000 billion dollars—to Medicare, social security, disability, food stamps, housing, Medicaid, transportation, student loans, education, pensions and non-military agencies.
Trumps’ budget cuts won’t be passed as proposed— they never are. They always demand larger cuts so we are relieved when we manage to beat back some of the attacks. Again and again the Democratic party colludes in this charade by agreeing to a compromise. Over the last 4 decades again and again this is the pattern that results in cuts to necessary social programs.
CAPITALIST GOVERNMENT SEIZING MORE POWER TO ENRICH THE FEW
There are two parts to Congress. The House of Representatives and the Senate. All budgets arise from the house of representatives. Congress just voted against Trump’s rotten wall but by declaring a national emergency Trump diverted funds for it anyway. So what’s to stop a repeat of that as far as cuts go?
Apparently what can’t be achieved by a vote in the millionaire’s club called Congress can be done through declarations and legal decrees. Now that Trump has packed federal and supreme courts with appointments for life, he is also trying to cut all funding for Medicaid and Obamacare by a court decree.
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS RESPONSIBLE
The whopping tax cuts for the rich pushed by Trump continue the cuts of Bush and Obama, both of whom also increased the military budgets. George W Bush cut taxes by $4 trillion for the rich. Just as they were set to expire, Obama extended the Bush cuts in 2010 for another $900 billion and extended them again in 2013, saving the rich $5 trillion over ten years.
Both Bush and Obama each increased military spending during their terms by $6 trillion. A few progressive members of congress may vote initially against it but have pledged to support the Democratic Party no matter what. Even these “progressives” don’t oppose U.S. military and economic interventions.
HUNGER OF THE PEOPLE LESS IMPORTANT THAN GOVERNMENT STABILITY
Trump pursues criminal behavior every day. He supports white supremacy. He commits sexual assault. He engages in illegal business dealings and more. But Democrats went after by cooking up a hoax about Russia. They chose to attack him from the right rather than risk inciting the masses or instability in the government.
The government at this point is an example of state capitalism meaning that its major role is to prop up Wall Street profits and ensure global economic domination through endless murderous wars. It Is not by the people or for the people. It is bought and paid for by campaign contributions and tens of thousands of lobbyists. Any remaining measures that benefit the people are a result of the struggle we waged in mass movements. Nothing could be more urgent than an independent movement against war and cuts to programs.