Why Does “National Security” Always Mean More War, Not More Health Care?

On March 17, 2025, DefenseScoop reported that Congress authorized $141 billion for Pentagon analysis and improvement — an quantity bigger than the budgets of most federal agencies, and near the dimensions of the seven next largest military budgets around the globe. But, as common, there was little debate. As an alternative, navy leaders and lawmakers lamented that the determine was $7 billion lower than final yr attributable to finances caps set below the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, as if something wanting perpetual will increase is a disaster.

In the meantime, what number of instances have we heard that there’s no cash for common pre-Ok? That increasing Medicare is simply too costly? That elevating the minimal wage would damage the financial system?

In the USA, “nationwide safety” has develop into an unquestioned justification for infinite navy spending — at the same time as thousands and thousands of People wrestle with medical debt, housing instability and underfunded colleges. The actual disaster isn’t that the Pentagon’s finances decreased — it’s that our leaders proceed to prioritize warfare over human well-being.

Regardless of years of record-high navy budgets, politicians and protection officers act as if the Pentagon is perpetually underfunded. This year’s defense topline is still $892.5 billion, with main allocations going to the Division of Protection, Oversees Contingency Operations and nuclear weapons actions by means of the Division of Vitality — and but, Washington claims that even this isn’t sufficient.

This pattern of ever-expanding navy budgets spans administrations and get together strains. In April, President Donald Trump reportedly floated a $1 trillion military budget, a transfer that was met with fierce criticism from peace advocates and coverage consultants who referred to as it a “profound ethical failure” — particularly in a nation the place thousands and thousands wrestle with housing insecurity, medical debt and meals instability. Whereas the small print of Trump’s proposed plan had been obscure, the truth that such a quantity was even thought of illustrates how normalized extreme navy spending has develop into. Whether or not it’s $892.5 billion or $1 trillion, the consequence is identical: a militarized state that funnels public sources into warfare readiness somewhat than neighborhood care.

What will get misplaced in these conversations is that actual nationwide safety isn’t about navy dominance — it’s about making certain that individuals have secure lives. But we’re conditioned to simply accept that safety means an arsenal of hypersonic missiles, autonomous warfare drones and next-generation cyberwarfare capabilities — not inexpensive housing, debt-free training or accessible well being care.

Contemplate what $141 billion — the Pentagon’s analysis and improvement finances alone — may fund as a substitute: universal pre-K for every U.S. child for over five years, free school meals for 10 million students for a decade, tens of thousands of affordable housing units and full Medicaid expansion in every state that refused it.

As an alternative, these billions will probably be spent creating new weapons, synthetic intelligence-driven warfare and navy area know-how, making certain that navy contractors stay flush with taxpayer {dollars}.

In relation to funding warfare, we’re at all times advised that “we should do what is important.” However in the case of funding the fundamental wants of People, we hear a unique story: Increasing well being care? Too costly. Free neighborhood faculty? Unrealistic. Paid household go away? Who can pay for it? Local weather resilience? No room within the finances.

This contradiction is just not unintended — it’s by design. The identical lawmakers who eagerly approve practically a trillion {dollars} in navy spending declare that serving to working individuals is fiscally irresponsible.

Even throughout the navy finances itself, it’s not troops or veterans who profit most — it’s navy contractors. The Pentagon continues to waste billions on weapons techniques that go unused or overbudget, all whereas firms like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman rake in large earnings.

For instance, the continuing warfare in Ukraine has led to heightened demand for Raytheon’s protection techniques. Particularly, their Patriot missile protection techniques have been in higher demand as international locations bolster their protection capabilities. Northrop Grumman reported a 4 percent increase in net sales for the fiscal yr 2024, reaching $41 billion. This development is attributed to rising geopolitical tensions and the corresponding demand for navy gear.

However this yr’s Pentagon finances isn’t nearly warfare overseas. Current developments have intensified the U.S. navy’s position in home operations, significantly regarding immigration enforcement alongside the southern border. This shift displays a strategic transfer in direction of elevated militarization inside U.S. borders.

At a latest press convention, navy officers framed immigration as a safety risk and introduced that the U.S.S. Gravely is being despatched to patrol the Gulf of Mexico. The administration is in search of “100% operational management” of the southern border, additional blurring the road between nationwide protection and home militarization. The U.S.S. Gravely is tasked with intercepting unauthorized maritime activities, together with unauthorized immigration and drug smuggling. Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command, acknowledged that this deployment considerably strengthens the nation’s border safety framework.

Equally, the U.S.S. Spruance has been deployed to patrol the West Coast, contributing to a coordinated Division of Protection response to realize operational management of the border.

Past naval deployments, roughly 10,000 active-duty troops and a couple of,500 Nationwide Guardsmen have been stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border. These forces are geared up with armored preventing autos, helicopters and superior surveillance applied sciences, together with spy planes and drones, to observe and deter unauthorized border crossings. This represents a major escalation within the militarization of border enforcement.

These actions have raised concerns amongst authorized consultants and human rights advocates. The deployment of navy forces for home legislation enforcement functions could battle with the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the usage of federal navy personnel in civilian legislation enforcement roles.

The present administration’s method emphasizes a militarized response to immigration, prioritizing drive and surveillance over addressing the foundation causes of migration — local weather change, financial instability and violence exacerbated by previous U.S. interventions.

The infinite cycle of navy growth ensures that each disaster — whether or not international or home — is handled as an excuse for greater navy budgets.

What if we outlined safety not as navy supremacy, however as individuals having what they should dwell secure, dignified lives? What if, as a substitute of spending billions on warfare know-how, we invested in a well being care system the place nobody goes bankrupt over medical payments, a dwelling wage and common paid go away, colleges that don’t depend on GoFundMe for provides, infrastructure that doesn’t crumble on the first signal of catastrophe?

True nationwide safety begins with collective well-being. When individuals don’t have entry to housing, education, medical care and basic stability, your entire society turns into extra weak — economically, emotionally and politically. A safe nation is one the place individuals are not dwelling on the sting. When everybody has what they should thrive, we’re all safer.

The reality is, we have already got the cash. We simply select to spend it on warfare as a substitute of on individuals.