A few days ago the defeated former President, and current leader of the fossil fueled fascist party in the US — Donald Trump — claimed that he would encourage Russia to attack U.S. allies in Europe unless they increase spending on war and weapons. It’s not a new thing for Trump to attack the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), side with Russia, or suggest that he’d run the US Government as a sort of high-stakes protection racket – “nice country you got there, be a shame if something happened to it.”
But Trump’s recent comments do once again throw into sharp relief that there’s a better way to lead the free world; One that President Biden hasn’t embraced yet either, but could.
The US already spends more on war and weapons than any other country on earth. If we directed even a fraction of that money into climate action and humanitarian aid, the world would be a safer place, and we could genuinely claim to be leading the world toward a cleaner, greener place. Sign now to tell President Biden to cut military spending, and focus on clean energy and climate instead.
The president is putting the final touches on next year’s budget now, and with global tensions on a razor’s edge, “security” is certain to be a top priority. But for decades, the U.S. government has spent more on weapons and war than any other country on earth — and it didn’t make anyone, anywhere, any safer.
It’s time to rethink this broken approach.
Next year, we could pour even more bombs and bullets into a world where violence is increasing by the second — unless we take action together to demand a better future. The President’s budget proposal is due in the next few weeks and that means the clock is already ticking. To influence policymakers in the White House and make a real impact, we need to act NOW.
Budgets are moral documents that should reflect our values and priorities. Sign on here to tell President Biden to invest in human needs and cut the Pentagon budget now, and we’ll deliver the signatures before he delivers a budget to Congress. That will put us in the strongest possible position to advocate for a new policy, and a new budget, at the start of this legislative marathon. IF we act together, and act smart — we can press the White House and Congress to reject the misguided notion that billions for weapons and war are the only way to keep us safe and help us thrive.