War economy takes from domestic needs — Vicki Berenson

Wisconsin State Journal – March 4, 2020
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[In response to WSJ Editorial Feb 23, 2020 supporting the F-35 fighter jet basing at Truax]

It is disturbing to see the callous disregard for environmental justice issues from supporters of the F-35 jet fighters that could be based at Truax Field in Madison. Because low-income residents and children are already disproportionately impacted by the noise of current fighter jets, that does not mean it’s OK to increase the amount of noise with additional F-35 flights. This is the kind of thinking that feeds disparities.

How is it that we as a society are convinced that it’s all right to spend billions on new fighter jets and nuclear weapons, even without real documentation of how they will protect us — but we still have to scrape for funds to provide affordable housing, public education, health care and clean water?

Our local leaders profess to care about the wage and achievement gaps and racial disparities. When will they begin to speak loudly against our increasing dependence on a war economy that will shrink available resources for domestic needs?