Backgrounder on A Peace Economy: Rebalancing Spending Priorities, February 2015

Backgrounder on A Peace Economy: Rebalancing Spending Priorities, February 2015

The federal discretionary budget is heavily skewed toward military spending, with more than half devoted to defense while domestic and international programs that reduce poverty and expand opportunity are underfunded. This imbalance contributes to persistent poverty—especially among women and children—and reflects national priorities that differ markedly from other countries, since the United States spends more on defense than the next ten countries combined.

USCCB position on spending priorities

• Federal budget choices express moral values and must be judged by justice and the common good.
• Budget policy should avoid disproportionate cuts to services for the poor and require shared sacrifice from all, including raising adequate revenues and eliminating unnecessary military and other spending.
• Defense and fiscal decisions must be evaluated for their real contribution to freedom, justice, and peace.

Catholic teaching and ethical framework

• Nations have legitimate duties to defend people and to promote development; when defense spending crowds out development and poverty alleviation, moral problems arise.
• The arms race and extravagant military investment worsen global misery and disproportionately harm the poor.
• Public finance should serve development and solidarity, observing fairness in taxation, precision and integrity in administration, and attention to families and the weakest members of society.

Key implications

• Rebalancing discretionary spending toward human development, poverty reduction, and social services is both a fiscal and moral imperative.
• A just budget strategy should include revenue measures, careful reductions in unnecessary military expenditures, and fair treatment of long-term health and retirement costs.
• Shifting resources can promote employment, strengthen social insurance, and increase the state’s credibility as a guarantor of the common good.

Recommendations

• Reassess defense priorities in light of their actual contribution to peace and human flourishing.
• Prioritize investments that create opportunity, protect families, and address poverty at home and abroad.
• Design public spending and tax policy to advance solidarity, equality, and the protection of the most vulnerable.

Peace-Economy-Backgrounder-2015-02.pdf