WAR MACHINE
We’ve got potholes in the street, D A D
And it feels like shantytown. D – A-
The market’s near the stratosphere, but D A D G
The schools are coming down. E7 A
GOP or Democrat, G D
Everybody’s got a caveat. D G A
Every time they pass the hat, D A D G
Put money in the war machine. G A D—
Put money in the war machine. G A D—
We’ve got health care through the roof,
And we cannot feed the poor.
And politicians seem to think
Gonna fix it with a war.
Prospects are tumbling,
Bridges are crumbling, oh
How we gonna intervene?
Put money in the war machine.
Put money in the war machine.
Forget your neighborhood, G D
Forget about the golden rule. G D A
Forget about the common good, G D
We’re on a ship of fools. G D A
They want anything but peace,
Won’t let their profits cease.
Got senators and congressmen
Walking on a leash.
‘Cause Wall Street rather build a bomb,
Start another Vietnam.
They’ve got your lifeline in their palm,
And money in the war machine.
And money in the war machine.
They don’t ever plan to win,
Don’t think about the harm.
Just keep that money flowing in
That needle in their arm.
We’ve got factories in every state,
Candidates all get it straight.
It’s more than you can calculate,
It’s money in the war machine.
It’s money in the war machine.
©Doug Hendren 2017
What’s it about? At home our schools and infrastructure are decaying, and we cannot provide simple, stable healthcare for all Americans. Wall Street, however, is at an all-time high, and much of this has to do with the diversion of American wealth away from basic needs into the American War Machine. We have 200,000 overseas military personnel in 800 bases all over the world, at a maintenance cost of about $100 billion per year. The dollar cost of US military conflicts since 9/11 is placed at over $5 trillion.
It’s not just a U.S. problem, to be sure. In 2023, the G7 nations spent 62 times more on military than on humanitarian aid. But the U.S. leads the world by far. Think of how many problems we could actually solve by redirecting some of this wasted wealth!
President Eisenhower famously coined the term “military-industrial complex”. In his 1952 farewell address to the nation, Eisenhower warned that the US now had an immense, permanent arms industry, and that only an alert citizenry could prevent it from exerting “unwarranted influence” over our democratic institutions.
The War Machine makes a small number of people very rich, but at great cost to the nation as a whole. Many of the arms made by the War Machine for the world market come back to haunt us, contributing to violent conflict worldwide. Our men and women in uniform are potentially put in harm’s way due to the excesses of the US defense industry. It is likely that our foreign wars will continue as long as there are profits to be made.
Refs:
How the war industry corrupts the US Congress.
1-16-18 2018 will be another good year for weapons makers.
Divided Congress unites to spend $700B on military and war.
Why We Fight. Sony Pictures Classics documentary film about America’s military-industrial complex.
Nation that says it can’t afford medicare for all has spent $5.6 trillion on war since 9/11.
The Worst Addiction of Them All. Kurt Vonnegut on America’s war addiction.
Global Cities US Arsenal Can Hit Within an Hour.
The Costs of Freedom. Here are the price tags of some of our often-used military items, and what we could use the money for at home if we weren’t using it to kill people abroad.
