In recent budget negotiations, Senate Democrats agreed to a boost in military spending that exceeded the cap for fiscal 2018 by $70 billion, bringing the total request to an enormous $716 billion. Inevitably, this means more Pentagon contracts will be awarded to private corporations that use endless war to line their pockets. Democrats capitulated to this massive increase without so much as a scuffle. But the move hardly comes as a surprise, given how much money flows from weapons makers to the coffers of congressional campaigns for both parties.
While the majority of the weapons money goes to Republicans, Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Bill Nelson appear in the top ten recipients of campaign contributions–in both chambers and parties–from military contractors in 2017 and 2018. Northrop Grumman gave $785,000 to Democratic candidates since 2017.Hillary Clinton took over $1 million from the industry in 2016. Even progressive darlings like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders take money from weapons manufacturers, and Sanders supported Boeing’s disastrous F-35 because his home state had a financial stake in the program.
As gjin fan 'e wichtige politike partij dizze status quo ophâldt, wat kin dan wurde dien?
One answer might be found in the recent push to divest from fossil fuel companies undertaken by, among others, Norway and New York City. By December of 2016, 688 institutions, representing over $5 trillion in assets, had divested from fossil fuels. In an interview with The Guardian, author Naomi Klein described the fossil fuel divestment effort as “a process of delegitimizing” the sector and of affirming that it yields “odious profits.”
In analoge kampanje om foardielers fan oarloch te delegitimisearjen is lang ôfrûn. Neist it drukjen fan ús leden fan it Kongres om donaasjes fan kampanjes te weigjen fan wapenfabrikanten en oarlochspersoniel, moatte wy in desinvestearingspoging op ynstitúsjoneel en gemeentlik nivo berikke. Ynvestearjen yn oarloch moat komme op kosten fan iepenbiere skande.
Studinten fan universiteiten kinne ynformaasje oer holdings oanfreegje fan har skoallen. Faak wurde ynvestearingen yn militêre korporaasjes bondele yn kompleksere finansjele ynstruminten wêrfan ynvestearingen net iepenbier wurde iepenbiere. De ynhâld fan dizze ynstruminten kin wurde bepaald troch kontakt op te nimmen mei in universiteitsbestjoer fan trustees of begeliedingsbehearder. Dan kin in desinvesteringskampanje wurde lansearre, kampuskoalysjes bouwe, petysjes oanmeitsje, direkte aksjes organisearje en resolúsjes trochleare troch studinte-regearingsorganen. In nuttige hantlieding foar studintaktivisten is te finen hjir.
Activists can launch municipal divestment efforts by determining the holdings of city pension, utility, or insurance funds. In 2017 the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the national association of cities with populations over 30,000, adopted a resolution acknowledging the need to transform funding priorities away from war-making and into local communities. Divestment campaigns can leverage this resolution in order to hold city leaders to their word. More information for activists at the city level is available hjir.
Divestment offers an alternate means of addressing the blight of war profiteering in an era in which traditional political routes have been closed by our craven representatives. It also brings the message into smaller communities–communities that crumble while defense contractors live in luxury.
In nije koälysje fan sawat 70-groepen yn it heule lân is foarme om in Divest From the War Machine-kampanje te starten. De koälysje noeget alle lju út dy't wearze troch de oarlochspersoanen om universiteiten, stêd, pensioen en leauwen ynstellingen te helpen galvanisearjen fan oarloch. Lês mear by: http://www.divestfromwarmachine.org/
Yn in 2015-taspraak oan it Amerikaanske Kongres, it heule Kongres dat sa oan 'e oarlochsmasine te sjen is, frege paus Francis wêrom deadlike wapens waarden ferkocht oan dejingen dy't untold lijen oan' e maatskippij feroarsaakje. It antwurd, sei hy, wie jild, "jild dat is dronken yn bloed, faaks ûnskuldich bloed." Seach nei in keamer fol kongresmannen dy't profitearje fan wat hy "keaplju fan 'e dea" neamde, rôp de paus foar it eliminearjen fan' e wapens handel. Ien manier om de oprop fan de paus oan te hâlden is om fuort te iten oan 'e winsten fan dejingen dy't in moard meitsje op moard.
ZNetwork wurdt allinich finansierd troch de generositeit fan har lêzers.
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