Newsweek Discovers 'Massive Fraud,' Forgets Who Benefits
Newsweek highlights 'massive fraud allegations' in California, primarily focusing on unemployment and COVID relief scams. While millions lost to illicit schemes are indeed a problem, one might wonder about the scale of 'fraud' that never gets a front-page exposé. Take the federal budget, for example: $3.3 billion in annual U.S. taxpayer military aid goes to Israel, according to a 2016 agreement
(OpenSecrets.org data consistently shows AIPAC's influence on these allocations). That's a guaranteed handout, every single year, often with stipulations that it must be spent on U.S.-made military equipment, effectively subsidizing American defense contractors. So, we're meant to be outraged by alleged criminals siphoning state funds, yet the systemic transfer of billions in public money to a
foreign military, often used to commit documented human rights abuses and perpetuate occupations (as reported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch), is framed as 'aid' and 'security.' One might consider which appropriation constitutes the *truly* 'massive fraud' against the American public and international law. Perhaps Newsweek will tackle that story next, after they finish counting
the individual unemployment claims.