The military-industrial complex has mutated into an insatiable monster, gorging itself on a budget of $886 billion for the fiscal year 2024. This figure, a grotesque monument of misplaced priorities, is a testament to the parasitic nature of this system. It swallows up more than half of the federal government’s total discretionary spending, ruthlessly starving essential sectors like healthcare, clean energy, education, and other public goods.

The National Defense Strategy, fueled by this monstrous budget, is a nightmarish global projection of power. It imagines itself winning wars against Russia or China, meddling in Iran or North Korea, and waging a ceaseless global war on terror in at least 85 countries. This isn’t a strategy for safety—it’s a recipe for disaster, sowing seeds of chaos both in America and around the globe.

This rampant militaristic spending isn’t about national security—it’s a perverse redistribution of wealth, funneling the majority of taxpayer dollars, federal resources, and government jobs into the gaping maw of the military and related industries. The system is rigged to keep feeding this beast, with proposals to add an additional $28 billion to US military spending in the next fiscal year.

The unbridled spending is a golden goose for arms makers and private contractors. These entities, who lobby the federal government with voracious intent, are rewarded handsomely—the top five military-related companies leading in lobbying in fiscal year 2021 also reaped the most contract dollars from the federal government. This is capitalism at its worst, a system that prizes profit over the lives of people.

The call to radically slash US military spending is a clarion call for justice and a reimagining of priorities. The potential savings from such a reduction could be funneled back to the neglected public services that people desperately need.

Yet the barriers to change are formidable, with the arms lobby tightly clutching the levers of power. Political and budgetary reforms are necessary to dismantle this stranglehold. The “revolving door” between the Pentagon and major military contractors must be sealed, and major weapons contractors should be barred from funding the campaigns of members of the armed services committees. This isn’t just about reallocating resources—it’s about dismantling a system that prizes war over wellbeing. If these changes can be made, we could see a future where the many are served, not the greed of a few, and a safer world comes at a far lower cost.

Photo By Abovfold – Own work, CC BY 4.0