The Obama Administration

Rhetoric vs. Reality

Reality: U.S. Military Aid has supported

some of the most militarized societies in
the world and frequently outspends
international humanitarian programs

• $1.3 billion to Mubarak’s Egypt

Barack Obama:
“To those who seek peace and security: We
support you.” -Election victory Speech
November 2008
• $3 billion to Israel slated for 2012
• $1.5 billion to Pakistan
• The less than 1% of the budget set to
combat international poverty and
epidemics faces major cuts this year

Barack Obama: “We have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it
takes in.! That is not sustainable.! Every day, families sacrifice to live within their
means.! They deserve a government that does the same.”
-State of the Union Address, January 2011

Reality: The government has recklessly borrowed trillions to fund the military-industrial
complex bail out Wall Street bankers.

• There have been more than $11 trillion in Wall Street bailouts since 2008
• Hundreds of billions of dollars have been added to the deficit to extend the Bush Tax
Cuts, disproportionately benefitting the wealthiest 2% of Americans
• At $1.39 trillion, Military Spending comprises 48% of the federal budget
• The government is cutting the low-income heating and energy assistance program in half
this year, leaving 3.1 million households out in the cold.

Robert Gates: “It is important to
remember that every defense dollar
spent to over-insure against a remote
or diminishing risk… is a dollar not
available to take care of our
people… That is a risk I will not
take.”
-Defense Secretary Robert Gates, April 2009
Reality: Since Gates took over at the
Pentagon at the end of 2006, defense
spending has increased by more than $100
billion. The proposed 2012 budget
includes:
• $117+ billion for wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan
• $9.7 billion for the glitchy F-35 Jet
• $3.88 billion for unmanned “drones”
that have killed hundreds of civilians
in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen

Join us on April 12, 2011 to tell our leaders that we spend too much on the military. We
want our tax dollars to pay for our basic needs, for our social survival!

www.newprioritiesnetwork.org | www.demilitarize.org