By John Marciano Santa Monica
A recent article about the lack of funds for needed police services in Compton (LA Times, Aug. 5) raises a fundamental question: Why is there no money to address the causes and symptoms of violence in Compton and elsewhere, while we have huge funds to support a gargantuan U.S. war machine? Its current estimated cost is $1 trillion: a Pentagon budget of $500 billion, the war against Iraq: $300 billion and rising, and the “War on Terror,” moving toward $200 billion and beyond.
Based on population percentages, California’s share of that $1 trillion is about $121 billion. LA’s is $12 billion and Santa Monica’s is $288 million — vast sums that should be used for vital social concerns, e.g., crime and public safety, health care, education, housing and homelessness, the environment and transportation.
The vast sucking sound heard in Compton, Santa Monica and the state is the whoosh of our taxes leaving to feed a Pentagon militarism that serves to undermine efforts to make all our cities safe and financially sound. We must demand that our taxes support peace, justice and an end to violence — not a war system that enriches a few major corporations while spreading terror abroad and misery at home.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 19, 2005. Read the original PDF.