Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Since then the United States has sent more than $44 billion in aid–a massive payment that could have been used to help the people of America.
Since the year 2022, the average price of consumer goods has increased by 1.o8 times with the dollar having a 7.74% cumulative inflation rate, according the the Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator. In 2023, groceries saw a five percent spike in what the typical American spent on groceries compared to 2022, and this is double the usual inflation rate of groceries. While 5 percent may not seem massive, it resulted in an average of $1,000 more being spent in households on food, according to the USDA.
This increase in government spending also causes an increase in need for government revenue, which often times leads to an increase in taxes. Many middle and lower class Americans are struggling to afford groceries and other necessary items as prices continue to increase. A gallon of milk’s average cost across America went from $3.88 to over $4 in less than a year, this is one example of rising living costs, according to USDA average price tracking data.
Now what does this have to do with Ukraine?
The government spending billions to aid a foreign country in a land dispute is part of the reason that Americans have had to pay more for goods and services. We are sending military assets to a foreign nation to assist them with a dispute over territory, a nation that is not a standing member of NATO.
Forty four billion dollars to Ukraine, and meanwhile, Americans are suffering from natural disasters and rising costs of housing, groceries, gas and everything else within their lives. America was built on an isolationist ideology, According to History.com. While full isolationism is not an ideal method of national policy, we should restrict ourselves more from other nation’s affairs.
The US is currently involved in both this conflict and the territory despite between Israel and Palestine. Neither of these are out of concern for our own national security but as an assist for other countries.
The US currently covers %16 of the NATO yearly budget, more than any other single nation within the alliance, according to several news sites including, NPR, and USA Today. Add on top of that the fact that we are sending money into Ukraine, which is a separate bill due to them not being a member of NATO. We are spending billions upon billions of dollars on the defense of other nations with very little return.
Congress is passing bills to spend more money for the benefit of these other nations while they should be focused on the betterment of our nation and governance.
The United States should have one main concern with how we spend our money.
That concern is the United States of America, one nation under God. We are one nation, not many. We are America, not Eastern Europe.
Ukraine is not our fight, and continuing to pour money into a standstill battle for land on a different continent simply doesn’t make sense for the current state of the American people.
Our government needs to shift it’s attention towards its people–focusing on uplifting and advancing America, building up our people and technology, advancing and pushing to become better.
Government spending could be re routed to better education and teacher pay, into programs that are meant to help get people back onto the right track in life, and into more and better training for our police officers to help rebuild the people’s trust in them.
Over $44 billion and counting. Imagine what that kind of money could do for our less fortunate communities, for our library systems, for the list of programs and places that need our attention.
It is not our job to fight in other country’s wars, and it is not our job to build the armies of other nations. Our job is to build America, our nation of freedom, justice, and liberty.
For the alternative opinion, please see: https://ironbladenews.com/8102/opinion/pro-con-pro-the-…g-aid-to-ukraine/
