isn’t helping workers

We recently had a questionable tax cut. It might serve us well to see where the tax money went and who benefited most.

Today, $375 billion a year is spent buying arms. Worldwide, more than $1.69 trillion is spent on military, and more than half of this is spent on the U.S. military alone. Of the $375 billion in arms sold, $200 billion goes to seven U.S. companies. That’s a lot of money that could support housing, education, health care, and public transportation.

The cost of our military is 55 percent of this nation’s discretionary spending. Most of this money does not go to our troops; it goes to corporations in the military-industrial complex. Most of that money paid out to the corporations for arms manufacture does not go to workers, but to stockholders and CEOs of the arms dealers.

In contrast, during World War II, a larger share of the arms manufacturing money went to workers. They shared in some of the profits of war. Today, because of automation and outsourcing of labor, more profits go to the corporate officers and stockholders. Sadly, today, workers still believe they are getting a fair share of war profit. They are not.

It appears that we are all fooled again. Be very careful when anyone says they are lowering your taxes while increasing the money going to the military. Most of that money is not going to the troops.

It would be well to remember also that you do not need a cannon to swat a mosquito.

Peter P. Sirois

Madison