The USA could end homelessness or hunger (and maybe both) nationally for the amount of money we sent to Israel each year.
No, no they could not lol. Not even remotely close.
The US spends $2 Billion a year on aid to Israel.
They spend $105 Billion a year in direct payments to SNAP (food stamps) recipients.
And $32 Billion a year on section 8 housing vouchers.
It’s almost as if throwing money at free handouts doesn’t fix the problem.
The problem is starving homeless children. Feeding them and giving them housing fixes this. It also gives them more opportunities, which makes it more likely they contribute to society in meaningful ways (including paying more in taxes than we spend helping them, especially when factored over generations). The alternative is often a bigger tax burden via the criminal justice system. (Prison is much more expensive than housing vouchers and food stamps).
Bringing people out of poverty is a good economic investment. The only time handouts don’t help is when they go to the financial sector. It doesn’t improve tax income for the State and investors begin to predict bailouts, making risky investments more worthwhile because Uncle Sam will help them out.
Tax the rich, feed the poor.
Since ‘48, we’ve sent over 158 billion in aid- without adjusting for inflation.
It’s more than all other countries combined- including Ukraine.
Even that 2 billion could go a very long way to helping.
You’re right, it could.
In fact, the US could fund a few wars and conflicts, end homelessness, implement socialized healthcare and fund the world’s best public transit system with affordable high-speed trains between cities simultaneously.
But they don’t because they don’t want to, not because they can’t.
That’s enough to end homelessness last I checked. (Last year or so I compared median national housing prices and found that Elon Musk’s wealth was enough to take every family and single person in the country off the street. That’s how obscene 150 billion is. It’s enough to end homelessness).
