David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz, writing at Tom Dispatch this week about what they called "The United States of Flint," make this point:
"The price tag for replacing the lead pipes that contaminated its drinking water, thanks to the corrosive toxins found in the Flint River, is now estimated at up to $1.5 billion. No one knows where that money will come from or when it will arrive. In the meantime, the cost to the children of Flint has been and will be incalculable."I sit with these words: "No one knows where the money will come from."
In the president's latest budget proposal, $7.5 billion is earmarked to "fight ISIS," an absurd non-threat to the nation's survival, but no matter. We're engaged in endless war with whoever the latest enemy happens to be and this war is endlessly funded, no questions asked. Mostly we're engaged in war preparation, of course (and the containment of the consequences of past wars โ at least the ones that can't be ignored). As usual, the Pentagon and other war-engaged institutions will consume well over half the nation's discretionary spending, including a $59 billion "slush fund that permits the Pentagon to break through Congress' legislated budget caps," according to the National Priorities Project.
Comment: This can hardly be considered a threat but this reaction from law enforcement is to be expected when living in a fascist state.