CHANGING THE WORLD FOR WORKING FAMILIES

The distribution of wealth in our capitalist society isn’t working for the majority of working families. Legislations in our Government are only benefitting a small percentage of the population, the rich and powerful. We need to change all this and ensure working families are taken care of. The excitement of the military build-up is an example of why we must take into account issues that will affect our families. Excited businessmen are eager for the military build-up because the increase in profits they will gain but not looking at the negative impact it will have on our environment, safety, and living conditions for our families. As long as our wages are low, our economy won’t necessarily improve. During the International Network of Women against Militarism, women throughout the world shared the negative impacts of strong military presence in their countries. A representative from Australia shared the fact the International Labor organizations showed four times more job creation for the same amount spent for the military. A week’s worth of money spent on the military could be used to improve healthcare, create green jobs for unemployed workers, and protect the environment. Our island is already facing an underfunded public structure and problems with low wages. We need to address these problems first so that we can handle the issues to come as we transition into the military build-up of 8,000 marines and their dependents.