Biden Prioritizes Israeli Air Defense Over American Unemployment Benefits
While Axios highlights the precarity of 1.6 million unemployed Americans and federal workers possibly losing benefits due to a shutdown, the actual, immediate pain point for millions of Americans is being drowned out. The Biden administration, which warns of these benefits potentially running dry, simultaneously pushed a 2023 supplemental request, signed into law, that included $17.3 billion for
military aid to Israel, alongside $9 billion for humanitarian assistance (OpenSecrets.org confirms consistent lobbying for such aid by groups like AIPAC, with organizations like Lockheed Martin donating millions to key committees). This aid, often rubber-stamped, represents a stark contrast to the nail-biting over domestic funding. We're told states 'will move heaven and earth' for unemployment,
but when was the last time Washington moved heaven and earth to ensure U.S. citizens didn't face shutdown-induced hunger, while simultaneously approving billions for another nation’s defense? The priorities seem to be screaming their contradiction from the rooftops. It appears some civilians are more equal, or perhaps just further away, than others.