Sunday, June 29, 2025

We Can Afford Reparations, Disability Benefits, and More — If We Stop Choosing War

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We Can Afford Reparations, Disability Benefits, and More — If We Stop Choosing War

Most Americans accept the military budget without question, but balk at reparations for Black descendants of slavery or the cost of disability benefits. The truth? We’re already spending trillions on war and weapons — money that could fully fund reparations and disability payments for a decade, while rebuilding our communities and healing the nation. This isn’t a fantasy or political wishful thinking. It’s cold, hard math.

$25 Trillion and Counting: The Price of War Since World War II

Since 1945, the U.S. has spent over $25 trillion on military operations, including conflicts from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. This figure includes weapons, personnel pay and benefits, military infrastructure, and related expenses.

  • Personnel costs alone—wages, housing, pensions, veterans’ healthcare, and schooling—account for roughly 30% of the defense budget, or about $7.5 trillion since WWII.
    (Source: Brown University Costs of War Project)

  • But what does this massive investment buy? Tens of thousands of combat deaths, millions more wounded physically and mentally, and over 30,000 veteran suicides since 2001—more than four times the number killed in combat.
    (Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Brown University)

The Human Fallout: Veteran Suicides, Homelessness, and Toxic Legacy

  • An average of 22 veterans die by suicide every day, making suicide a leading cause of death for those who have served.
    (Source: VA statistics)

  • Many suffer PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and moral injury from combat, but lack adequate care. Veterans constitute 13% of the homeless population while making up only 6% of the total U.S. population.

  • The 9/11 health crisis alone has caused at least 20,000 deaths due to cancers and respiratory diseases linked to toxic exposure, with an estimated $16 billion in medical and productivity losses.

Reparations vs. War Spending: The Stark Contrast

  • Conservative estimates for reparations to African Americans descended from slaves range around $12 trillion.

  • Ten years of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments would cost roughly $1.5 trillion.

  • Combined, this is about $13.5 trillion — a figure that pales next to the trillions already spent on military ventures that neither repair nor protect the country’s most vulnerable.

The Job Argument: A False Economy

Critics argue the military provides essential jobs and economic security, but this argument ignores:

  • Soldiers often earn $25,000–$40,000 annually, risking life and limb with little long-term support.

  • War-related jobs are non-productive and destructive; the military consumes human capital and taxpayer money but returns mostly destruction.

  • Studies show that investments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure create nearly twice as many jobs per dollar as defense spending.

  • The military funnels wealth to weapons contractors and elites, not to communities or families.

How a Peace Economy Would Change the Disability Landscape

If the country shifted from a war-focused economy to one centered on peace and reinvestment, the disability situation — especially physical disability — would look dramatically different:

  1. Less War, Fewer War-Related Disabilities

    • Reduced combat means fewer veterans returning with traumatic injuries and chronic disabilities, lowering military disability rolls.

  2. Safer Jobs in Sustainable Industries

    • Redirected funds would create safer, more stable employment in sectors like infrastructure and healthcare, reducing workplace injuries.

  3. Better Social Safety Nets and Healthcare

    • Increased investment in public health would improve early intervention and care, preventing many disabilities from becoming permanent.

  4. Economic Stability Supports Mental and Physical Health

    • Poverty and insecurity fuel disability rates; a peace economy would reduce these stressors and provide more support.

And we must ask: if our economy is so warped that people are willing to throw themselves into a meat grinder for $25,000–$40,000 a year, what options remain for those who won’t enlist? The answer is often poverty, injury, and poor mental health. A society built around war leaves everyone else behind — and then shames them for needing help.

A Closing Thought: Tupac’s Truth

As Tupac Shakur famously said,

“We have money for wars, but can’t feed the poor.”

This blunt reality remains true decades later. The money is there—massive sums—yet too many struggle just to survive. Reparations, disability benefits, poverty reduction, education, healthcare—all these urgent needs remain underfunded because priorities lie elsewhere.

The conversation about reparations is often met with resistance, but it’s not about settling a single debt or making a symbolic gesture alone. It’s a gateway into a broader, more urgent question: What kind of society do we want to build?

Is it one where war and profit for a few outweigh the health, dignity, and futures of millions? Or one where resources serve human needs and repair generations of harm?

Imagine a nation where the trillions spent on war instead:

  • Feed millions of hungry families
  • Provide long-term disability care and mental health support to those in need
  • Rebuild infrastructure with clean energy, creating millions of good jobs
  • Fund education that empowers, not divides
  • Support community health initiatives that heal and protect

These aren’t just lofty ideals—they are achievable choices, alternatives we can demand and build towards.

The path to justice and peace is complex and challenging, but it begins with recognizing that our values and spending must align with the kind of future we want to leave behind.

Sources and Further Reading

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