US Military: $22 Billion Warship, $0 for School Lunches
Bloomberg's report on the Navy's proposed 'Trump-class' battleship highlights its potential $22 billion cost, making it one of the most expensive vessels in U.S. history. This figure could pay for universal pre-kindergarten for every 3 and 4-year-old in the U.S. for an entire year (Economic Policy Institute estimates). It could also provide housing for hundreds of thousands of homeless veterans
nationwide (according to VA estimates). While politicians debate military spending hikes, often rubber-stamping requests from defense contractors who lobby heavily in Washington (Lockheed Martin spent over $15 million in 2023, per OpenSecrets.org), discussions about domestic needs facing cuts are conspicuously absent. One might wonder who truly benefits from these colossal expenditures: is it
national security, or the ever-expanding profit margins of the military-industrial complex and its political patrons?