Congress is preparing to hand 65 percent of federal discretionary spending to the war machine, even as they wring their hands over a fraction of that for the Build Back Better Act.
The Obama administration’s budget included a promissory note. It will take them a few more weeks to tell us what they plan to spend next year on the Afghan War. Their intention to bring that war to an end, though, is clear.
The presidential debates have scarcely touched on military spending or its impacts on local communities in the United States. But activists in Albany County, New York are showing how to get the issue on the national agenda. On October 9, 2012, the legislature of Albany County, New York approved a proclamation calling upon Congress to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, cut the U.S. military budget, and use the savings to fund vital public programs at home.