Nothing new, but saying it again has virtue - from Counterpunch -
Our Pentagon and military, Lindsay Koshgarian of the National Priorities Project points out, currently “take up more than half of the discretionary federal budget each year,” and over half that spending goes to military contractors. Most of these contractors, adds Heidi Peltier, the director of the “20 Years of War” initiative at Boston University’s Pardee Center, essentially operate as monopolies. The excessive profits that status helps them grab are widening America’s core inequality: Lockheed Martin’s executive chair, at last count, is making $30.9 million a year.
In 2020, execs at Lockheed and four other contracting giants — Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics — spent $60 million on lobbying to keep their gravy train going. Over the past two decades, the Center for Responsive Politics reports, the defense industry as a whole has spent $2.5 billion on lobbying “to influence defense policy” and directed another $285 million to political candidates friendly to contracting business as usual.
How can we upset that business as usual? Reducing the size of the military budget can get us started. Contracting out fewer necessary functions — keeping defense work in-house — and reforming the contracting process itself will also be essential.
But executive pay needs to be right at the heart of that reforming. No corporate execs dealing in military matters should have a huge personal stake in ballooning federal spending for war.
Vested interests in making our nation the bully of the world are capable policy purchasers, and it is elected officials selling themselves to keep their power and paychecks. Sick? Of course. The American Way, way behind in reforming.
That money put into boosting the poor and fighting human suffering in our nation could do good. Instigating war, the neocon dance, is sick, and in need of change.
We all know that. So what's holding government back, from GOOD government?
And how do citizens fix what is broken? First up. Face the problem. Understand it in order to gut it. And, stay committed.
________BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE________
More of recent CounterPunch posting-
August 23, 2021
Will Americans Who Were Right on Afghanistan Still Be Ignored?
Photograph Source: David Owen – CC BY 2.0
And one more, the media gaining attention for their intentional failures - more of going along to get along - putzzing for profit.