US Consumers in 'Crisis Mode' While Billions Go Abroad
According to Newsweek, Americans are in 'crisis mode' as consumer stress hits a five-year high, with rising bankruptcy concerns and tight budgets. (Perhaps they missed the memo?) While families grapple with inflation and stagnant wages, Congressional leaders continue to prioritize military aid packages abroad. For example, the recent $95 billion foreign aid bill, a significant portion of which is
earmarked for Ukraine and Israel, passed with bipartisan support. This includes $14.3 billion specifically for Israel , approved even as Gaza faces mass starvation. One might wonder how many Americans could climb out of 'crisis mode' with even a fraction of those billions. Yet, this kind of glaring disparity between domestic suffering and lavish foreign spending rarely makes it into the same
headline. It's almost as if the 'crisis' is only newsworthy when it doesn't challenge the spending priorities of heavily-lobbied politicians. Recall that in 2023 alone, organizations like AIPAC and J Street spent millions influencing these very votes ( OpenSecrets.org ).