Bread Not Stones

Bread Not Stones

What Can You Do?
Trade-Offs Between Military and Domestic Spending

"Is there anyone among you who,
if your child asks for bread,
will give a stone?"
(Matthew 7:9)

Contact your Representative and Senators and ask them to support any amendments that reduce military spending and invest our money in diplomacy, international aid, and domestic human needs.

Points to Include In Letters Or Calls:

  • You believe that the federal budget is a moral document that should reflect our nation's priorities.

  • Every dollar spent on weapons is a dollar not spent on human needs. You may want to refer to some of the trade-offs between military and domestic spending listed below.

  • Investing so much of our nation's wealth in weapons only promotes the use of weapons instead of alternative approaches to prevent tension and resolve conflict. We must balance our investment military power with investment in diplomacy and international cooperation to address the causes of tension and prevent conflict.

  • A national missile defense program was a bad idea during the Reagan years, and it is still a bad idea today because of the cost, the unproven technology, and the impact on global arms control.

  • Our nation cannot afford, and does not need, expensive new fighter jets and submarines.

  • The Pentagon should be held accountable for the waste, fraud and abuse of billions of dollars.

  • Members of Congress should agree to close unneeded bases, stop adding "pork" projects to the defense budget, and promote strategies for economic conversion of military jobs to more productive jobs in the civilian sector.

  • Include any personal stories you have about the needs of your community, and show how a small decrease in defense spending could have a big impact in meeting those needs.


Trade Offs Between Military and Domestic Spending
AMT
MILITARY USE
DOMESTIC NEEDS
112 BillionRequested by President Clinton in 1999 to increase the military budget over the next six years.Amount needed to renovate the nation's schools, according to a 1999 General Accounting Office Estimate. (CLW)
45 BillionNeeded to continue the controversial F-22 Fighter Jet Program.Could fully fund Head Start for six years, instead of only funding 36 percent of eligible kids. (CLW)
32 BillionTen percent of the total needed for the three new fighter jet programs.Fund Community Development Block Grants for eight years. (NPP)
5 BillionCost of one new aircraft carrier.Pay salaries of 65,000 new teachers for two years. (NPP)
11 BillionThree Seawolf submarines.Children's Health Insurance Program for 11 million kids. (BLSP)
1 Billion0.3 percent of total defense budget for one year.Any of the following:
  • Buy 238,000 families food for one year
  • Summer job training for 262,000
  • One year college tuition for 148,000
  • Hire 66,000 medical technicians
  • Hire 37,000 teachers
  • Build 600 schools
  • Build 15,000 affordable housing units
  • Head Start for 230,000 for one year
  • Health insurance for one million kids
    • Sources: Council for a Livable World (CLW), National Priorities Project (NPP),
    Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities (BLSP)

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