THE GREAT MONEY-GOBBLING WAR MACHINE
How much is a billion dollars? Most of us would simply say, “A lot,” for we’re unable to comprehend such a stash.
To get your mind around a billion, think of it like this: Suppose you had a billion dollars and you spent $3,000 of it every day. Wow, you’d be living high on the hog! So, spending at that rate, how long would it take you to go through your billion bucks? Get ready, Methuselah: 1,000 years!
This gives some perspective on that money-gobbling war machine we call the Pentagon, which spends more than a billion of our tax dollars every single day. And that doesn’t count fighting wars! If we actually use the military, Congress must shovel many more billions into the Pentagon’s maw. For example, George W.’s war of lies in Iraq is now chewing up an extra $5.6 billion every month.
The sheer volume of our military spending is absurd. First, the Pentagon’s basic annual budget of $500 billion is quadruple the military spending of all of America’s potential enemies combined, from Cuba to China. Worse, the Pentagon treats money like pocket lint. You and I are paying for weapons that don’t work and aren’t needed, for ridiculous multibillion-dollar Tinkertoys like Star Wars, for massive waste and gross fraud by such military contractors as Halliburton, and for a bloated military hierarchy that has 225,000 officers – one for every five soldiers.
Feeding this glutton has led to a perversion of our nation’s real security needs. While throwing money at the Pentagon, our so-called leaders have ignored the upkeep of America’s essential infrastructure, shortchanged education, ignored the obvious need of health care for all, and generally failed to provide for the common good.
To help fight this perversion and build a responsible Pentagon budget, call Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities: 212/243-3416.
A COMMUNITY AND ITS BOOKSTORE
In most aspiring American towns, chamber of commerce booster types measure the town’s status by whether it has such corporate symbols as a Wal-Mart or McDonald’s. For me, however, the true measure of a town’s vitality comes down to whether it has three noncorporate essentials: a vibrant farmers’ market, a good local pub, and an independent community-based bookstore.
In assessing Menlo Park, Calif., I don’t know personally about the first two measures, but I do know that it is strong on the third, boasting a terrific, homegrown store: Kepler’s Books and Magazines. I know because I’ve done a booksigning through Kepler’s. For 50 years, this family enterprise has been much more than a store – it’s a community center that brings folks of all stripes together, providing information, enlightenment, entertainment, and connection. In Menlo Park, Kepler’s has even become a verb – to go book-browsing or just to hang out there has come to be called “keppling.”
Imagine the shock of locals, then, when they heard late in August that this town hub was shutting its doors for good, a victim of discount pricing by the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But, wait – the community refused to let Kepler’s die!
Within a week, some 500 people rallied outside the store to organize community support, 17 locals stepped up to invest $500,000 in new capital, professionals contributed a new business plan, a SaveKeplers.com Web site went up, some 400 people (from grade schoolers to senior citizens) volunteered time to help put the store back on its feet, a Kepler’s membership club was started, an 11-year-old student held a school fundraiser, and … well, the whole town’s grassroots rallied. Only six weeks after closing, Kepler’s was reborn, stronger than ever.
To measure the vitality of a town, don’t look for corporate logos, but for signs that the town has a commercial soul and strong community bonds.
This article appears in November 11 • 2005.