A Moral Budget vs. A War Budget

Dec. 20, 2021 - Download PDF Version

A joint publication from the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival; Institute for Policy Studies; Repairers of the Breach; and Kairos: The Center for Religion, Rights, and Social Justice.

As we near the end of 2021, our nation is still facing multiple, interlocking crises around voter suppression, health, poverty and economic insecurity, housing, debt and more. Below, we look at two major pieces of legislation making their way through Congress: the Build Back Better Agenda (BBBA) and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The BBBA is an attempt to respond to these crises - which predate and have become worse during the pandemic - through life-saving programs like health care, cash assistance and paid leave, but it is stalled in the Senate. While there is much more to be done, it is both morally wrong and economically insane to block the BBBA and use the lie of scarcity to claim it is too expensive, when at the same time, Congress will likely pass the NDAA, which is four times greater.

These two bills represent diametrically opposed views of how to address the challenges of our time: a moral budget vs a war budget. Congress: Which side are you on?

What will it do?

Build Back Better	National Defense Authorization Act
Reduce poverty and economic insecurity through fully refundable tax credits that reach the poorest households Make health care, child care, and housing more affordable Create good jobs in home care and other key sectors of the economy Make additional investments towards a clean energy economy	Prioritize military force over diplomacy by funding $15 for the military for every $1 for diplomacy and non-military aid Continue the proliferation of nuclear weapons Subsidize huge paychecks for military contractor CEOs Worsen climate change by continuing the Pentagon’s role as the largest institutional source of fossil fuel emissions in the world, and contaminate drinking water near military bases with toxic “forever” chemicals.

Build Back Better

National Defense Authorization Act

Reduce poverty and economic insecurity through fully refundable tax credits that reach the poorest households
Make health care, child care, and housing more affordable
Create good jobs in home care and other key sectors of the economy
Make additional investments towards a clean energy economy

Prioritize military force over diplomacy by funding $15 for the military for every $1 for diplomacy and non-military aid
Continue the proliferation of nuclear weapons
Subsidize huge paychecks for military contractor CEOs
Worsen climate change by continuing the Pentagon’s role as the largest institutional source of fossil fuel emissions in the world, and contaminate drinking water near military bases with toxic “forever” chemicals.

How much will it cost?

Build Back Better	National Defense Authorization Act
$170 billion per year (average over 10 years)	$778 billion per year (This includes $768 in discretionary spending and $10 billion in mandatory spending)

Who will benefit the most?

Build Back Better	National Defense Authorization Act
61 million children (39 million families) who will continue to receive the Child Tax Credit 18 million workers who will have paid family and medical leave 17 million low-wage workers who will continue to receive the expanded EITC 6 million children who will benefit from universal pre-k 4 million uninsured people who will have access to Medicaid 800,000 elderly and disabled people who are on the Medicaid waiting list for home health care	Military contractor CEOs. The top 20 made an average of $18 million in 2020 Corporate contractors that took in $422 billion in FY 2021 alone

Build Back Better

National Defense Authorization Act

61 million children (39 million families) who will continue to receive the Child Tax Credit
18 million workers who will have paid family and medical leave
17 million low-wage workers who will continue to receive the expanded EITC
6 million children who will benefit from universal pre-k
4 million uninsured people who will have access to Medicaid
800,000 elderly and disabled people who are on the Medicaid waiting list for home health care

Military contractor CEOs. The top 20 made an average of $18 million in 2020
Corporate contractors that took in $422 billion in FY 2021 alone

Who will be most harmed?

Build Back Better	National Defense Authorization Act
No one, including that mega-millionaires and billionaires will barely feel their higher tax rates	Families of 900,000 people killed, and 38 million displaced, by U.S. wars 18 million veterans who face increased risks of unemployment, homelessness, family violence and suicide 642,000 children in military families who endure repeated deployments and separation Servicemembers who are targets of sexual assault and white supremacist extremism due to inadequate accountability from the Pentagon Many of the up to 110 million people exposed to toxic “forever” chemicals in drinking water Everyone in the world, from the Pentagon’s fossil fuel emissions, which are larger than those of many countries

Build Back Better

National Defense Authorization Act

No one, including that mega-millionaires and billionaires will barely feel their higher tax rates

Families of 900,000 people killed, and 38 million displaced, by U.S. wars
18 million veterans who face increased risks of unemployment, homelessness, family violence and suicide
642,000 children in military families who endure repeated deployments and separation
Servicemembers who are targets of sexual assault and white supremacist extremism due to inadequate accountability from the Pentagon
Many of the up to 110 million people exposed to toxic “forever” chemicals in drinking water
Everyone in the world, from the Pentagon’s fossil fuel emissions, which are larger than those of many countries

Whose priorities?

BBBA proposals vs. Real Military Spending
More for Pentagon contracts to a single company (Lockheed Martin, $75 billion in FY 2021) than child care and preschool ($40 billion/year under BBBA) More for equipment and programs the Pentagon didn’t even ask for ($25 billion) than child and earned income tax credits ($20 billion/year under BBBA) More on guarding the world’s oil supply ($81 billion/year) than for climate and clean energy initiatives to protect the planet($55 billion/year under BBBA) More for the Space Force ($17.5 billion) than for healthcare for Americans ($13 billion/year under BBBA) More than twice as much for military bases in Germany ($7.5 billion) than for Medicare hearing benefits ($3.5 billion/year under BBBA) More for the wasteful F-35 ($12 billion) than on a better immigration system ($10 billion/year under BBBA)

BBBA proposals vs. Real Military Spending

More for Pentagon contracts to a single company (Lockheed Martin, $75 billion in FY 2021) than child care and preschool ($40 billion/year under BBBA)
More for equipment and programs the Pentagon didn’t even ask for ($25 billion) than child and earned income tax credits ($20 billion/year under BBBA)
More on guarding the world’s oil supply ($81 billion/year) than for climate and clean energy initiatives to protect the planet($55 billion/year under BBBA)
More for the Space Force ($17.5 billion) than for healthcare for Americans ($13 billion/year under BBBA)
More than twice as much for military bases in Germany ($7.5 billion) than for Medicare hearing benefits ($3.5 billion/year under BBBA)
More for the wasteful F-35 ($12 billion) than on a better immigration system ($10 billion/year under BBBA)