Weapons contractors like Elon Musk are fleecing taxpayers

 

Weapons contractors like Elon Musk are fleecing taxpayers
  • War Budget Watch @ Win Without War 
    winwithoutwar.org
    From:info@winwithoutwar.org
    To:Mr Mark M Giese
    Sun, May 31 at 9:32 AM

    Win Without War logo 

    Mark: A damning report reveals that Elon Musk’s SpaceX has hiked the price it charges the Pentagon for Starlink connections during the U.S. war on Iran — FIVEFOLD.

    Companies like Musk’s profit by touting the lie that weapons will keep us safe. It’s a privilege they pay for: SpaceX spent upwards of $2.75 million on lobbying alone in 2024. They expect a healthy return on that ‘investment’ too, and an astonishing, record-breaking $1.5 TRILLION Pentagon budget request has Elon Musk and other weapons contractors seeing dollar signs.

    As people reel from spikes in inflation and the cost of gas, this budget is simply unconscionable. In fact, it’s SO out of step with public opinion and public needs that it could be the downfall of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the bill that sets the Pentagon’s topline.

    That’s why our team is in an all-out sprint to force lawmakers to confront rampant Pentagon waste, expose unjustifiable payouts for weapons firms on the taxpayer dime, and lay bare the horrific human impacts of a budget that prioritizes more weapons and war. It’s how we’ll stop this budget proposal from becoming a done deal — and it’s all kicking into high gear now.

    While lawmakers insist there is “no money” for health care, housing, nutrition assistance, or climate resilience, Republican leadership is forging ahead with a record-shattering Pentagon budget, despite the agency failing eight consecutive audits and being unable to fully account for where its money goes.

    Even Pentagon officials report “logistical challenges” trying to figure out how to spend all the money they’re given.[1] No matter, the House Armed Services Committee's first draft of the NDAA tracks toward Trump’s staggering proposal for a $1.5 TRILLION war budget — a 44% increase from last year’s record-breaking amount.

    Roughly HALF of that is set to flow directly to private contractors — which means Trump’s billionaire buddies like Elon Musk are gearing up to cash in.

    Lockheed Martin’s CEO calls it a “golden opportunity” for the company. We call it a scam. Even Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who sits on the Senate’s Budget and Finance Committees, agrees, recently noting: “We are being ripped off by our military industrial complex.”[2]

    Here’s what gives us hope. This budget fight is FAR from settled, Mark, and we’ve got an opportunity to stop spending where war profiteers want, and start spending on the things that will improve people’s lives.

    Now comes the difficult part: opposing the enormous influence of the weapons lobby, billionaire CEOs, and lawmakers willing to protect lucrative Pentagon contracts at any cost. But with you with us, we’ll be ready to give this fight all we’ve got.

    What do you get when a bottomless budget collides with corporate greed? Pentagon waste and lucrative weapons contractor payouts, while taxpayers like us foot the bill.

    With your help, we can break this devastating feedback loop. We’re not a movement of billionaire war profiteers, but when your donation is combined with hundreds of others, it amounts to a huge sum — and it helps us make an enormous impact.

    Thank you for working for peace,
    The Win Without War team

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