by George Gold
guest commentary posted Oct. 26
In September, about a dozen members of the Chico Peace Alliance traveled to the front gate of Beale Air Force Base to deliver a message to pilots and support workers.
We wanted to share our view — not often noted by the defense establishment — about the hazards that are caused by the U.S. military industrial complex. Our view was that peace is more important than war, and that the U.S. defense infrastructure causes a huge negative environmental impact right there in Marysville and around the world.
The U.S. military budget for 2023 was $842 billion. So, let’s see, if we just cut that budget by 10%, that would mean that some $84 billion could be used to provide food to curb the shocking rise in child hunger across the United States, to alleviate the crushing debt of so many students, to solve the devastation of homelessness, to work to address the negative impact of climate change. Hmm… what a concept.