Last week's guest speaker, Wade Davis from National Geographic, brought up a good point during his speech and it wasn't even a global topic. It was about an imperative need to fix the homelessness in North America, especially in the United States.
Davis explained when a native tribe of South America came to visit Vancouver, British Columbia, they were not astonished by the grandeur of "advanced" society, such as the skyscrapers, advanced automobiles or fast food. Rather, the natives were shocked by the fact that such a "developed city" had such a noticeable homeless population. The native tribe did not understand the concept of being without a home.
No matter how far Western society progresses, more and more seem to be left behind in the streets. In fact, the current estimation by the National Alliance to End Homelessness reports the United States has more than 643,000 homeless people. The number could reach 1.5 million by the end of the recession and foreclosure epidemic. Nearly a fifth of those currently homeless are people said to be chronically homeless, or people whose current situation isn't a randomly brought on occurrence, which isn't easily solvable.
Many Americans don't want to think about the homeless, let alone assume responsibility. It is easy to dismiss the problem as saying it is their fault and that it is an inherent and unfortunate risk of high stakes capitalism. But the population owes some moral obligation to those left behind in society. Even if a person doesn't want to directly give money to the homeless or volunteer time, all developed countries should be actively trying to end it. The U.S. should especially be trying to solve it because it is supposed to be the prime example for "Western culture."
The solution to the problem involves money, which America doesn't have. So rather than increase taxes, it's time to cut and redistribute the funds from another sector, specifically the military.
The current military budget is nearly three quarters of a trillion dollars. The U.S. military budget is higher than all other forms of discretionary spending in the United States, combined. It is increased every year as soon as a threat can be imagined or perceived. And if a person should hint at the fact it should be cut or question where it is going, he or she is instantly persecuted as not wanting to support the troops and letting terrorism win.
The fly over during last year's Super Bowl cost about $450,000. That's almost equal to nine average U.S. families' incomes according to the last Census. The cost for gas alone was $109,000. Adding to the absurdity, the roof at the stadium was closed. Essentially, it was for the cameras.
There are other examples of questionable military spending. For example, the millions blacked out, even to Congress, about the top-secret projects the military is working on, such as the Aurora Project, for a replacement to the SR-71.
There are many other examples, like the illegal drone strikes, the hiring of mercenaries and supporting of dictators. But it takes books the size of The Iliad to accurately bring up all the poor decision-making behind the government's spending habits in the past year alone.
Terrorism, genocide and war will not be solved over night, despite the fact that America continues to recklessly and wildly throw money at the problem. The goal of eradicating homelessness seems obtainable; perhaps even in the near future. A proper redistribution and allowance to the Department of Defense needs to take place. An advanced society cannot judge itself on how well it can drop bombs abroad, but rather how well it can provide food, water and shelter to its people at home.
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