The Pentagon cuts would account for nearly half of the total
of automatic cuts mandated by the debt deal. If the Pentagon is immune from
cuts, it will force greater cuts in domestic programs, like education, environmental
protection, health care, veterans' benefits, college scholarships and more.
The Pentagon already spends almost as much on the military as
the rest of the world combined. The total budget for the military in 2011 was
almost $800 billion. A modest 25% cut in those funds would free up $200
billion, enough to eliminate every
state's budget deficit with funds left over! This is the time for these
mandatory cuts to take the pressure off federal and state budgets.
A recent
announcement by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta suggested that American
combat troops could be withdrawn from Afghanistan as early as mid-2013. That
move could save hundreds of billions of dollars while keeping our troops in
Afghanistan for one more year will have minimal impact on the Afghan Security
Forces.
According to a January
27, 2012 article in The Hill, through drawdowns in the Afghanistan and Iraq
wars and reductions of troops in Europe, the United States should be able "to
reduce our 1.5 million member active-duty military by much more than the
roughly 100,000 troops stated as a goal." It costs almost $1 million per year
per soldier, so these reductions would also save significant money.
NJPA urges you to contact Representatives and Senators (in New Jersey you can call Senator Frank Lautenberg at (888) 398-1642 ; and
Senator Robert Menendez at ( 973)645-3030) to tell them NOT to shield
the Pentagon from spending cuts. Genuine security depends on all our towns having enough money for education, affordable housing and health
care, and clean air and water. It's time to prevent the military-industrial
complex warned of by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower from draining dry
the rest of the economy.
Let's advocate for our communities, move the money and make
our communities the nation's top priority!
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