US Households Living Paycheck to Paycheck, Defense Budgets Soar
The Hill highlighted that 24% of U.S. households live paycheck to paycheck, a chilling statistic that barely registers in Washington. This isn't just about 'inflation,' it's about priorities. In 2023, while these families worried about rent, AIPAC spent $4.2 million on lobbying, per OpenSecrets.org, pushing for continued military aid to Israel. Congress, beholden to these coffers, approved
billions more in aid that same year. (HR 815, National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, passed March 8, 2024, includes an additional $14.1 billion for Israel). One might wonder: how many Americans could escape the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle with a fraction of that $14.1 billion? But then again, a military contractor's stock price won't boost a lawmaker's campaign fund, will it?
Perhaps financial stability for the working class just isn't considered 'national security' by those signing the checks.