Something very unusual happened this week: A massive new Pentagon spending bill failed to pass the Senate. We’ll see what ultimately happens, but it’s a sign of how rapidly both the size of the Pentagon budget (now over $1 trillion) and the U.S. military relationship with Israel have become.
This week in OtherWords, Danaka Katovich explains how that Pentagon spending actually makes ordinary Americans poorer — from the over $4,000 it cost the typical household in taxes last year to the SNAP cuts that are fueling it.
Also this week, Mitchell Zimmerman surveys the latest killings by ICE — another agency whose funding has been absolutely turbocharged under this administration — and calls them deliberate attempts to terrorize immigrant Americans.
And Eli Taylor Goss and Jason Bailey report on how states as politically diverse as Washington and Kentucky are responding to the state-level budget crunch — caused in no small part by those outlays for Pentagon and ICE, which were financed in part by federal safety net cuts — by looking at higher taxes for the wealthy.
New This Week…
Robinhood in Reverse: How the Pentagon Makes Us Poorer | Danaka Katovich
While costs rise for everything, SNAP recipients who lost benefits — and the farmers who fed them — are being asked to shell out $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon.
ICE Killings Are Acts of Terrorism | Mitchell Zimmerman
ICE’s indiscriminate violence conveys that nonwhite immigrants, lawful or otherwise, have no place in Trump’s America.
Federal Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Are Bankrupting States. Some Are Fighting Back. | Eli Taylor Goss, Jason Bailey
From Washington to Kentucky, states are united: The wealthy must pay their fair share.
In Case You Missed It…
This Deadly Heat Wave Has a Culprit | Emma Buretta
As people die in this heat, it’s time to kick the fossil fuel industry out of our politics.
SNAP Cuts Take More Than Food Away | Layla Sayed
For my family, SNAP meant one less impossible choice at the end of the month. Millions are now losing that lifeline.
Think Medicaid Cuts Won’t Affect You? My Story Says Otherwise. | Callie Curtis
Paltry reimbursement rates have created a crisis in pediatric care that could have cost me my life. I worry other kids won’t be as lucky.
We Shouldn’t Deport People Into War Zones | Jordan Liz
Congress must not let Trump revoke protections for people fleeing countries the U.S. government itself considers unsafe.
