Weapons-builders are misleading Congress with claims that jobs will be lost and the economy will suffer if we stop spending on the military.

It's simply not true. Spending on war and weapons is a lousy way to create jobs, especially when compared to better ideas like hiring teachers, paying firefighters or investing in road and bridge repair. But with only a few weeks left until the Supercommitee releases its plan, we need to act fast to set the record straight.

You can help by writing a letter to your local newspaper. Just enter your zip code below, then pick a paper and use our handy-dandy talking points to help you compose a letter.

References-

Coalition calls on Supercommitee to cut Pentagon first

API - Research dis-proves the myth of military job creation

WIRED magazine on military spending

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

 

Look for papers within miles of zip code

Step 2 - Write your message





Click on a point to add it to the letter.
  • Spending on the Pentagon has nearly doubled in the past decade,

  • Military spending makes up more than 50 percent of discretionary spending, and more than the military budgets of all of America’s top rivals combined.

  • A few months ago, a bipartisan Commission chaired by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and Former Clinton White House aide Erskine Bowles identified up to $1 trillion in savings in the Pentagon budget that can be responsibly achieved.

  • Even House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has said, “Everything’s got to be on the table” when it comes to budget cuts. Pentagon spending should not be an exception.

  • Weapons manufacturers are claiming we'll lose jobs if we cut the military budget. But those same companies are also making hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, and paying their CEOs huge bonuses.

  • Lockheed paid their CEO Robert Stevens $19.1 million in 2010. Boeing’s Jim McNerney made $19.7 million.

  • Investing the same amount of money in Education as we invest in weapons-building would create THREE TIMES as many jobs according to research done at the economics department of the University of Massachusetts.

  • Investing in road and bridge repair would put a lot more people to work than investing in new fighter-jets we don't need.

  • Every dollar we spend on the military instead of education, health care and local infrastructure creates less jobs for the millions of jobless workers in America.

  • I hope the Supercommitee will listen to the experts and the American people and cut Pentagon spending so we can invest in rebuilding America and creating good jobs here at home.


    • (and confirm USAction/TrueMajority membership)