{"id":7846,"date":"2025-03-19T10:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T15:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=7846"},"modified":"2025-03-19T10:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T15:10:10","slug":"is-national-security-just-a-code-word-for-endless-military-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/is-national-security-just-a-code-word-for-endless-military-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Is National Security Just a Code Word for Endless Military Spending?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">Congress has now set <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/defensescoop.com\/2025\/03\/17\/congress-defense-appropriations-2025-rdte-spending-141b\/\" title=\"\">Pentagon research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&amp;E) spending at $141 billion<\/a><\/strong> for fiscal year 2025. Yet, instead of asking if such massive military spending is necessary for national security, lawmakers and military officials are lamenting that it is <strong>$7 billion less in than last year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Once again, <strong>military spending is framed as the priority<\/strong>, while vital social programs remain <strong>underfunded, overlooked, or outright ignored<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Misguided Sense of Urgency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The <strong>$141 billion RDT&amp;E budget<\/strong> is meant to fund <strong>weapons development, AI-driven warfare, hypersonic missiles, space militarization, and cyberwarfare capabilities<\/strong>. While Congress swiftly passed this funding, <strong>programs that would actually improve the lives of Americans remain stuck in legislative limbo.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Rather than questioning whether this sum is necessary, Washington debates <strong>whether it is enough<\/strong>\u2014despite the fact that the Pentagon\u2019s total defense budget <strong>remains near an all-time high of $892.5 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Meanwhile, how many times have we heard that there is <strong>\u201cno money\u201d<\/strong> for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\u2705 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/earlysuccess.org\/what-is-universal-pre-k\/\" title=\"\">Universal pre-K<\/a><\/strong> to give children a strong start in life<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\u2705 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/newjerseymonitor.com\/2025\/03\/18\/federal-cuts-threaten-affordable-housing-in-new-jersey-officials-and-advocates-say\/\" title=\"\">Affordable housing programs<\/a><\/strong> to address the national housing crisis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\u2705 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nutrition.gov\/topics\/food-security-and-access\/food-assistance-programs\" title=\"\">Food security programs<\/a><\/strong> to ensure no child goes hungry<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\u2705 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthcare.gov\/medicaid-chip\/medicaid-expansion-and-you\/\" title=\"\">Medicare expansion<\/a><\/strong> so Americans aren\u2019t drowning in medical debt<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The reality is that Congress is not broke\u2014our priorities are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Could $141 Billion Fund Instead?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">To put this into perspective, this year\u2019s Pentagon RDT&amp;E budget alone could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Fund universal pre-K for every child in America for over five years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Provide free school meals to every U.S. student for nearly a decade<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Cover the full cost of Medicaid expansion in every state that has refused it<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Build tens of thousands of affordable housing units across the country<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Instead, these billions will go toward building the next generation of warfare technology, ensuring that defense contractors continue to profit while millions of Americans struggle with basic necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Real Threats Facing Americans<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The Pentagon\u2019s RDT&amp;E budget alone is larger than the entire budgets of most federal agencies, yet it rarely faces the kind of scrutiny that social spending does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">While the government pours money into <strong>hypersonics and autonomous war machines<\/strong>, families in every state are dealing with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewtrusts.org\/en\/research-and-analysis\/articles\/2023\/08\/22\/how-housing-costs-drive-levels-of-homelessness\" title=\"\">Rising rent and housing insecurity<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/leadership\/americas-school-buildings-are-crumbling-and-its-a-national-security-issue\/2023\/03#:~:text=The%20nation%20annually%20spends%20%2485,Fund%2C%20the%20National%20Council%20on\" title=\"\">Underfunded schools and crumbling public infrastructure<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/issue-brief\/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs\/\" title=\"\">Soaring medical costs and inaccessibility to healthcare<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/hurricanes-hit-the-poor-the-hardest\/\" title=\"\">Climate disasters that hit vulnerable <\/a>communities the hardest<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We\u2019re told that <strong>\u201c<\/strong>national security\u201d depends on maintaining military dominance\u2014but what security is there when millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, ration their medications, or struggle to afford childcare?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The true national security crisis isn\u2019t a technological arms race\u2014it\u2019s the economic instability and inequality that Washington refuses to address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Redefining National Security<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Congress\u2019s decision to maintain Pentagon R&amp;D funding at sky-high levels while leaving working families without the support they need reflects a deeply flawed definition of security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udca1 Real security is not about warships, AI weapons, or missile defense systems. Real security means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Every child having access to quality education<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Every family having stable housing<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Every American being able to see a doctor when they need one<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Building a country where people feel safe, supported, and economically secure<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The debate in Washington should not be whether the Pentagon\u2019s R&amp;D budget was cut by $7 billion, but why we continue to prioritize war over human well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">If we are serious about protecting the future, it\u2019s time to <strong>move the money<\/strong>\u2014not into more military research, but into the programs that build real security and prosperity for all Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Take Action: Help Us Demand Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"nfd-wb-animate nfd-wb-fade-in-bottom\">\ud83d\udca1 At Peace Economy Project, we are fighting to shift U.S. spending priorities away from war and toward social investment. Join us in advocating for a future where our tax dollars are used to fund communities, not conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udce2 <strong>What you can do:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">\u2714\ufe0f <strong>Share this article<\/strong> to raise awareness!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">\u2714\ufe0f <strong>Contact your representatives<\/strong> and demand a budget that puts people first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">\u2714\ufe0f <strong>Support organizations like PEP<\/strong> working to challenge military spending.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udd17 <strong>Join the movement today!<\/strong> \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=39\" title=\"\">Get involved!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">#MoveTheMoney #FundCommunitiesNotWar #PeaceEconomy #Demilitarize #NationalSecurity #PentagonBudget #EconomicJustice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congress just approved $141 billion for Pentagon R&#038;D while critical social programs remain underfunded. Is \u2018national security\u2019 really about safety\u2014or just another excuse for endless military spending?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[242,263,232,244,262],"class_list":["post-7846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-defense-spending","tag-endless-wars","tag-military-spending","tag-national-security","tag-pentagon-budget"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/pexels-photo-4386157.jpeg?fit=1880%2C1253&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7846"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7849,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846\/revisions\/7849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}