Again we see a military spending bill before Congress in excess of $600 billion, which is more than half the budget of funds available for Congress to spend where they will.

Meanwhile, back in Maine, low-income school districts received even less than expected from a state legislature that fails year after year to meet their own 55 percent funding goal of support for local public education. The state-issued school “report cards” that accurately reflected the impact of shifting more of the cost onto local taxpayers as each district’s grade could be easily predicted by how many children in that area qualify for free breakfast and lunch.

All of Maine’s representatives and senators are awash in campaign donations from General Dynamics and other corporations who profit from building weapons of mass destruction, whether they are Democrat, Republican or independent. We saw them all pledging allegiance at Bath Iron Works in April when a single Zumwalt destroyer ship that cost $4 billion to develop and build was “christened.”

Budgets are a moral document, and a country that continues to impoverish its youth while lining the pockets of the fat cats is on a doomed path.

The fact that the Pentagon is the biggest polluting organization on Earth is another element in the grim future we’re building for our children and grandchildren.

Call the people you elected to represent you in Congress at 202-224-3121. Let them know it’s time to bring our war dollars home to fully fund education and other life supporting projects.

Lisa Savage, Solon


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