Nuclear weapons and military budgets

The recent Green Party Presidential candidate, Howie Hawkins, recently sent a message to the American people. He urged us to join the 54 nations that signed and ratified the Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons (607 NGOs (non-government organizations) joined 54 United Nations member nations), pledge no first use of nuclear weapons and reduce the United States’ military budget by 75 percent.

Here are some other numbers: 32 nations, including the United States, oppose the UN Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons. Currently, there are 13,400 nuclear weapons in arsenals. A great majority of Americans support the UN Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons. They also support a no-first-use pledge. Regarding the United States’ military budget, there are more than 800 United States military bases in other countries. The money to maintain them there is a significant part of the military budget.

Let us write, email and call our elected Congress-people and tell them what we think.

Mort Malkin
Milanville, PA

The answer to a labor shortage

It was disappointing to see an echo of the old “nobody wants to work” canard headlined recently.

I’ve probably seen not many more than 100 economics textbooks, but the ones I’m familiar with all point to one solution. If there is a labor shortage, the answer is quite simple: raise the wage rate or salary. And presto chango, one has gone from a labor shortage to a labor surplus.

Of course, there are additional barriers to workplace re-entry such as the treatment of workers by a boss with his hand on your behind or the dangers of contracting COVID-19, which, in some cases, can lead to death by suffocation as if by drowning. But even the military provides additional pay for hazardous duty.

An alternative method of dealing with the situation is to remove financial support so that workers become desperate to feed their children or pay medical bills. This doesn’t always solve the problem. Back in the day of chattel slavery, people complained about the lazy slaves. Can you imagine?

Larry Shute
Callicoon Center, NY