{"id":8174,"date":"2025-07-03T09:24:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T14:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=8174"},"modified":"2025-07-03T09:24:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T14:24:22","slug":"3-1-billion-for-fighter-jets-while-families-struggle-missouri-deserves-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/3-1-billion-for-fighter-jets-while-families-struggle-missouri-deserves-better\/","title":{"rendered":"$3.1 Billion for Fighter Jets While Families Struggle? Missouri Deserves Better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\"><strong>St. Louis, MO<\/strong> \u2014 The Peace Economy Project (PEP) strongly condemns the U.S. Department of Defense\u2019s recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.argunners.com\/u-s-commits-3-1-billion-f-15ex-fighter-jet-production\/\" title=\"\">$3.1 billion investment<\/a> in the production of 21 additional F-15EX fighter jets, manufactured by Boeing in St. Louis. At a time when Missouri families are grappling with underfunded schools, overwhelmed healthcare systems, and crumbling infrastructure, this massive outlay for weapons of war reflects deeply misplaced national priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWhile Boeing\u2019s St. Louis plant may profit from this deal, Missouri communities are left hungry, sick, and unsupported,\u201d said Katerina Canyon, Executive Director of the Peace Economy Project. \u201cWe need to stop pouring taxpayer dollars into death machines and start funding life-affirming programs right here at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Misplaced Priorities in Missouri\u2019s Backyard<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Boeing may see a short-term economic boost, but the long-term needs of Missouri residents remain unmet. Classrooms are overcrowded, maternal health outcomes are some of the worst in the nation, and roads and bridges continue to decay. This investment is a moral and fiscal failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>$3.1 Billion = Community Opportunities Lost<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">For the cost of 21 fighter jets, the federal government could instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Fund <strong>free school lunch for every child in Missouri for five years<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Create <strong>thousands of green energy jobs across the Midwest<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Expand <strong>mental health and trauma recovery programs<\/strong> in underserved communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>St. Louis Doesn\u2019t Need More Warplanes\u2014It Needs Investment in Peace<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">This latest funding allocation adds to a pattern of militarized excess that does little to address the root causes of violence, poverty, or instability. Peace Economy Project\u2019s recent brief, <em>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/sinking-billions-what-america-could-build-instead-of-more-warships\/\" title=\"\">Sinking Billions: What America Could Build Instead of More Warships<\/a>,\u201d<\/em> details the real-world impact of redirecting military spending to public good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenge the False \u2018Jobs vs. Peace\u2019 Binary<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We reject the narrative that military production is the only viable path for economic growth in Missouri. Peace Economy Project calls for a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/pfw7ArKOJTo\" title=\"\">Just Transition<\/a><\/strong>\u2014a strategic investment in sustainable industries, clean energy infrastructure, and social programs that support Boeing workers without perpetuating war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cIt\u2019s time we stop choosing bombs over books, and warplanes over well-being,\u201d Canyon added. \u201cMissouri deserves better. Our nation deserves better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For media inquiries, interviews, or access to the full policy brief, contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Katerina Canyon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Executive Director, Peace Economy Project<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udcde 929-224-2213<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udce7 peaceeconomyproject@gmail.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\ud83c\udf10 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.peaceeconomyproject.org\">www.peaceeconomyproject.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a time when Missouri families are grappling with underfunded schools, overwhelmed healthcare systems, and crumbling infrastructure, a $3.1B outlay for weapons of war reflects deeply misplaced national priorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8180,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,215],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pep","category-releases"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lee-peterson-YxVBeYwzvJ0-unsplash.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8174","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=8174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8181,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8174\/revisions\/8181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}