Fellow Americans, we have come to that time of the year when we must anti-up and pay the piper.
Now, I’m not one of those people who are afraid of big government. In fact, I recognize that government has the potential to provide the people it represents with security and a safety net. Here, in the U.S., it does just that. But, the question is, who does this government represent?
Growing up, I was taught that I live in a democracy where we have a government by the people and for the people. And, once again I ask, which people?
So, let’s look at what our taxes buy. In the year 2015, the projected budget shows that approximately 55% will go towards military spending. That includes monies spent on wars, on nuclear weapons, on international military assistance, and on other defense related activities.
The problem with monies spent on wars is that we always seem to be at war. Hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars were spent during the past 13 years on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, wars that were based on lies by members of the Bush regime. Tens of thousands of people died and the infrastructure of those two nations was destroyed. Who was held accountable?
In 2011, there was an uprising in Libya which was armed and violent. We were led to believe by the Obama administration that Muammar al-Qaddafi used indiscriminate force against his own people. This was a lie fostered, this time, by the Obama administration in order to justify NATO’s intervention, which is really U.S. intervention, in the conflict. NATO’s involvement was not about protecting the Libyan citizens but rather about overthrowing the Qaddafi regime.
Also, in 2011, unrest began in Syria with nationwide protest against Bashar al-Assad’s government. By 2013, the Syrian uprising had morphed into an armed conflict. Once again, the U.S. and its cover, NATO, wanted Assad’s regime out and entered the fray by providing weapons to the rebels. U.S. involvement peaked when in August 2013, 1,400 Syrians were killed by chemical weapons. Obama was quick to blame Assad and was trying to get support to involve the U.S. in this civil war.
The people of the U.S. were tired of war and fortunately Russia’s president Putin was able to broker a resolution which allowed Obama to back out of his threats to Syrian President Assad. For your information, there was much disagreement regarding which side of the conflict was actually responsible for gassing civilians.
But, the U.S. was not to be denied and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) provided Mr. Obama with the necessary justification to bomb ISIS military forces in Iraq and Syria, by kidnapping and beheading a few Western journalists.
This administration was instrumental in the overthrow of a democratically elected president of the Ukraine and has supported the installation of a fascist government that wishes to join NATO and sever its relationship with Russia. The U.S. has supplied this fascist government with money and arms. Why is the Ukraine important? Because there are rich oil and gas deposits there and it would allow the U.S. to adopt a military presence on Russia’s border.
The U.S. and its media are now portraying President Putin of Russia as the aggressor. Let us remember the Cuban Missile Crisis when we almost initiated a nuclear war with the Soviet Union because they were building nuclear launching pads 90 miles off the U.S. shore. Russia, justifiably considers NATO’s (U.S.) presence along it borders as a threat to their national security.
Then there’s Israel, a country that openly implements it’s Zionist policies of ethnic cleansing and apartheid. The U.S. has continuously claimed that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them as they commit crime after crime against humanity. The U.S. donates $3.5 billion to Israel annually as well as military weapons. And, to show our support, President Obama, during Israel’s attack on Gaza this past summer which killed over 2,000 Palestinians, many of them children and unarmed citizens, sent a special supply of weapons and ammunition so that their efforts to kill off as many Palestinians as possible would not be interrupted.
These adventures or misadventures are being financed by you and me. We are told by the government that our military is protecting us, our freedoms, our democracy and our way of life.
I am not quite certain who it is threatening our freedoms and democracy other than our own elite class.
What exactly is our way of life? In our society, money is equated with free speech, corporations are people, millions of people cannot find affordable housing, the safety net for unemployed Americans has been severely compromised, access to food stamps has been severely reduced, we are one of the major polluters of water and air, our institutions promote and are instrumental in maintaining racism, we do not respect the borders of sovereign nations, and we support fascist governments and governments whose policies show contempt and disregard for another people.
Further, our way of life is portrayed clearly by looking at our budget for 2015. While we spend 55% on the military, we give 5% for unemployment, 5% for Medicare and health, 5% for housing and community, 6% for education, 6% for veteran’s benefits, and 3% for energy and environment.
This is the way of life we are willing to send our sons and daughters to defend? My fellow Americans, it’s time to tell the government that we’re angry as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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It’s time to pay our taxes
Posted on January 9, 2015 by Dave Alpert
Fellow Americans, we have come to that time of the year when we must anti-up and pay the piper.
Now, I’m not one of those people who are afraid of big government. In fact, I recognize that government has the potential to provide the people it represents with security and a safety net. Here, in the U.S., it does just that. But, the question is, who does this government represent?
Growing up, I was taught that I live in a democracy where we have a government by the people and for the people. And, once again I ask, which people?
So, let’s look at what our taxes buy. In the year 2015, the projected budget shows that approximately 55% will go towards military spending. That includes monies spent on wars, on nuclear weapons, on international military assistance, and on other defense related activities.
The problem with monies spent on wars is that we always seem to be at war. Hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars were spent during the past 13 years on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, wars that were based on lies by members of the Bush regime. Tens of thousands of people died and the infrastructure of those two nations was destroyed. Who was held accountable?
In 2011, there was an uprising in Libya which was armed and violent. We were led to believe by the Obama administration that Muammar al-Qaddafi used indiscriminate force against his own people. This was a lie fostered, this time, by the Obama administration in order to justify NATO’s intervention, which is really U.S. intervention, in the conflict. NATO’s involvement was not about protecting the Libyan citizens but rather about overthrowing the Qaddafi regime.
Also, in 2011, unrest began in Syria with nationwide protest against Bashar al-Assad’s government. By 2013, the Syrian uprising had morphed into an armed conflict. Once again, the U.S. and its cover, NATO, wanted Assad’s regime out and entered the fray by providing weapons to the rebels. U.S. involvement peaked when in August 2013, 1,400 Syrians were killed by chemical weapons. Obama was quick to blame Assad and was trying to get support to involve the U.S. in this civil war.
The people of the U.S. were tired of war and fortunately Russia’s president Putin was able to broker a resolution which allowed Obama to back out of his threats to Syrian President Assad. For your information, there was much disagreement regarding which side of the conflict was actually responsible for gassing civilians.
But, the U.S. was not to be denied and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) provided Mr. Obama with the necessary justification to bomb ISIS military forces in Iraq and Syria, by kidnapping and beheading a few Western journalists.
This administration was instrumental in the overthrow of a democratically elected president of the Ukraine and has supported the installation of a fascist government that wishes to join NATO and sever its relationship with Russia. The U.S. has supplied this fascist government with money and arms. Why is the Ukraine important? Because there are rich oil and gas deposits there and it would allow the U.S. to adopt a military presence on Russia’s border.
The U.S. and its media are now portraying President Putin of Russia as the aggressor. Let us remember the Cuban Missile Crisis when we almost initiated a nuclear war with the Soviet Union because they were building nuclear launching pads 90 miles off the U.S. shore. Russia, justifiably considers NATO’s (U.S.) presence along it borders as a threat to their national security.
Then there’s Israel, a country that openly implements it’s Zionist policies of ethnic cleansing and apartheid. The U.S. has continuously claimed that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them as they commit crime after crime against humanity. The U.S. donates $3.5 billion to Israel annually as well as military weapons. And, to show our support, President Obama, during Israel’s attack on Gaza this past summer which killed over 2,000 Palestinians, many of them children and unarmed citizens, sent a special supply of weapons and ammunition so that their efforts to kill off as many Palestinians as possible would not be interrupted.
These adventures or misadventures are being financed by you and me. We are told by the government that our military is protecting us, our freedoms, our democracy and our way of life.
I am not quite certain who it is threatening our freedoms and democracy other than our own elite class.
What exactly is our way of life? In our society, money is equated with free speech, corporations are people, millions of people cannot find affordable housing, the safety net for unemployed Americans has been severely compromised, access to food stamps has been severely reduced, we are one of the major polluters of water and air, our institutions promote and are instrumental in maintaining racism, we do not respect the borders of sovereign nations, and we support fascist governments and governments whose policies show contempt and disregard for another people.
Further, our way of life is portrayed clearly by looking at our budget for 2015. While we spend 55% on the military, we give 5% for unemployment, 5% for Medicare and health, 5% for housing and community, 6% for education, 6% for veteran’s benefits, and 3% for energy and environment.
This is the way of life we are willing to send our sons and daughters to defend? My fellow Americans, it’s time to tell the government that we’re angry as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.