Inspiring words from Comrade Laura of the Partido Comunista del Peru .
“The blood poured out by our heroes will not be in vain, the armed revolution is already bearing fruit, history will put in its page the price the revolution demands, and the life of a communist belongs entirely to the Party. The hour of triumph is not far away, let us transform our tears and pain into a burning cry of war, since the oppressors cannot boast of their perpetuation on the face of the earth. Their time has arrived, and we call for this heroic feat as only with the rifle can the world be transformed.”
The imperialist countries , and the u.s.a. in particular , always overestimate their strength while underestimating the people under attack by them .
When is the last time the amerikkkans won a war ? Iraq , Afghanistan and of course Vietnam back in the day , all teach us something .
The fascist israeli government thought their " war " would be over in days , but the Palestinian Resistance proved be far more resilient than the zionists thought they'd be . Trump throws tantrums when Iran won't do what he wants them to do , and they have lost far more in terms of weapons and personnel than they're willing to admit .
Here is a long article , but worth the read . If you don't feel like it , then that's cool too .
Go listen to music .
The US and Israel Have Already Lost the War Against Iran
Editorial
The Islamic Republic of Iran has made the popular slogan “Yankees out of the Middle East” a looming reality. From the strategic perspective, the US imperialists and their Zionist lackeys have already lost the war. The matter is in motion, and the imperialists will learn it soon enough.
With 43,000 US personnel and civilians fleeing the Greater Middle East, the writing is on the wall. The significant damage inflicted on US imperialism in the region is a qualitative change that the US and its lackeys cannot recover from. This has a number of strategic implications.
Military Miscalculation is Inherent to Imperialism
The imperialists make trouble and fail only to make trouble and fail again, until their doom. Nonetheless, such heavy losses inflicted on US imperialism and its lackeys in the region were unexpected by the aggressors. US imperialism and its lackey Nazi-Zionism project strength to feebly conceal their essential weaknesses. The ferocious nature of imperialism will never change until it is finally destroyed.
Since the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood counteroffensive on October 7, 2023, the brilliant spark that set in motion the accelerated collapse of US imperialism in the region, the US and Israel have repeatedly claimed decisive victories over resistance forces only to be dealt further defeats.
Notable examples include the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the January 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the May 2025 ceasefire between the US and Ansar Allah, and the June 2025 ceasefire between the US-Israel and Iran.
After every instance, US and Israeli politicians and media have insisted on the obliteration of the resistance, only to face greater defeats from them later.
The same pattern repeats itself today in the situation with Iran, where the ultra-reactionary chief of US imperialism Donald Trump recently said that he may talk to Iran to try to end the war, and that the war of aggression could be over “pretty quickly”.
This is not unique to a specific faction of US imperialism, but an inherent feature of imperialist military abilities. The exploiters carry out their domination through hi-tech and expensive military equipment. They justify their wars by claiming their own invincibility and the inferiority of their enemy. They lack the support of the people. They get drunk on their own lies, and the ideological worldview of the exploiter obfuscates reality, which leads to military blunders and their inevitable demise.
US military bases have become so many nooses around the imperialists’ necks, and their means of domination have become so many liabilities, turning into their opposite.
Monopoly outlet CNN reports “the Trump administration seemed surprised by Iran’s reprisals, a testament to the superficiality of the White House’s planning for the war, and perhaps an ill omen for what lies ahead.”
The State Department declared a state of emergency on March 6, bypassing Congress to sell Israel more than 20,000 bombs worth around $660 million. The last time this was done was by the Biden administration following the surprise counteroffensive operation by the Palestinian resistance in October 2023. The speed at which the Zionist dogs need their weapons replenished indicates that they were unprepared for the war they initiated.
Trump met with top US arms monopolists during the first week of the war to discuss quadrupling arms production, specifically of those used in the war against Iran. US military experts have questioned the longevity of the Iran war, with one telling US monopoly media “We can’t afford to continue doing this”.
Reuters reports that the first two days of the war alone cost the US $5.6 billion.
Israeli officials were caught off guard by Hezbollah’s military capabilities, which they had repeatedly claimed were severely weakened by the Zionist invasion of southern Lebanon, the fall of Assad in Syria, and the assassination of its former leader Sayyed Nasrallah. This has proven false on the battlefield, with a number of casualties being reported among invading Zionist troops and within occupied Palestine itself.
“We made a mistake regarding Hezbollah; we didn’t expect them to fire with such intensity,” a senior Israeli official told Zionist media earlier this week.
The Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq have ramped up their attacks on US forces in their country through daily drone and rocket strikes.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdish officials have said they are staying out of the war, a strategic blow to the US-Zionist plans that hoped to use them to invade Iran.
US-Israel Could Not Accomplish Regime Change So They Seek Genocide
The US and Israel launched their war of aggression against Iran on February 28 for the purpose of strengthening the US’s status as the sole hegemonic imperialist power, and bolstering its lackeys in the region, mainly its attack dog Israel.
The US and Israel have been attempting for decades to carry out “regime change” in Iran both through internal operations and, lately, through direct strikes on the country. This has resoundingly failed thus far.
The rhetoric and attacks from the head butchers of the aggressors have become more openly genocidal, directed at the Iranian people and the destruction of their nation.
During the first week of the war, Trump said that Iran’s map would “probably not” look the same after the war. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been arming Kurds in Iraq to try to invade the country and cause a civil war, while Israel bombards the bordering Iranian territory to facilitate their advance—though, again, reports indicate this is not forthcoming.
When asked what will come after the war, Trump dismissed the question, responding, “They are decimated for a 10-year period before they could build it back.”
On March 7, Trump reiterated that he would only accept an unconditional surrender from Iran. When asked what that means, he responded, “if they surrender, or if there is nobody around to surrender.”
Trump also threatened to “hit [Iran] 20 times harder than they have been hit so far” and “make it impossible for Iran to rebuild as a nation.”
Over 1,444 Iranians have been murdered and 18,551 wounded according to Iran’s Health Ministry as of March 13.
According to the Iranian government, 30% of those murdered by the US-Israel are children. A New York Times analysis recently confirmed Iranian government reports that the 165 school girls murdered in Minab, Iran on the first day of the war were killed by the US in a precision strike.
The hypocrisy of US imperialism is on full display, when only months ago they feigned outrage on behalf of the Iranian protesters who they sought to co-opt with Mossad agents and armed lackeys. The protesters who just recently filled Iranian streets now become targets of US imperialist aggression. This demonstrates once again how US imperialism traffics with the masses and also shows no regard for its lackeys when their use value has expired.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, over 19,000 civilian buildings have been damaged by US-Israeli forces. These include a water desalination plant, several sports facilities, at least 69 schools, and dozens of health facilities. Important cultural-historical sites have also been hit.
These are blatant criminal acts aimed at demoralizing the Iranian people. However, such vicious terror has only unified the Iranian people against the foreign invaders waging a war of unbridled aggression, dissipating any of the imperialist delusions that they can rely on disapproval of the Iranian state to support their dirty work.
Targeted Assassinations and Genocide Cannot Defeat the People
Despite these murders, Iranians continue to demonstrate in their thousands and millions against the war and in defense of their country.
On March 10, a powerful live coverage video shows thousands of Iranians demonstrating against the war and in support of the new leadership when explosions are heard nearby. In response, the crowd begins vigorously shaking Iranian flags, chanting “We will fight, we will die but we will not surrender!” and “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Iranians protest against US aggression on March 10, 2026. Credit: Press TV.
In its strikes on the first day of the war, US-Israeli forces assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. About a week later, Iran’s Council of Experts elected Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to his father, showing a continuity in leadership.
Iran’s Decentralized Mosaic Defense military strategy keeps the government and military functioning and responsive in the face of assassinations and destruction of weapons depots. It is characterized by overlapping leadership structures and dispersed forces operating under centralized aims.
As senior Iranian officials have stated, the country is prepared for a long-term war. It is able to outlast and outmaneuver the “shock and awe” that reactionary military forces like the US and Israel rely on to win.
Irreversible Damage
According to a spokesman for the Iranian military, the first week of Iran’s Operation True Promise 4 destroyed over 200 US and Israeli targets through 600 missile operations and 2,600 drone operations. This includes numerous US bases across the region, the destruction of US vessels, radars, and aerial defense equipment.
The US has admitted to the annihilation of 13 imperialist soldiers and 140 injured. Iran claims the number is much higher.
Within occupied Palestine, Israeli command centers, military bases, airports, and critical economic infrastructure were struck.
Throughout the region, sites linked to US imperialism, such as energy infrastructure, hotels hosting US forces, and airports have been struck.
Resistance forces in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria have also participated with successful strikes on US and Israeli targets.
Ansar Allah, the Yemeni resistance force that defeated the US in a naval conflict in May 2025, has yet to enter the war. The fact that this powerful force remains on standby further disproves Trump’s claims that Iran is on the verge of defeat. A spokesperson for Ansar Allah said during the first week of the war, “our hands are on the trigger at any moment that developments require.”
Likewise, Trump’s already delusional “Board of Peace” project to permanently occupy Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” by attracting billions of dollars for luxury developments is proving to be even more farcical. The instability caused by acute imperialist oppression is inhospitable to investments, especially if it is expecting to attract the ultra-rich to vacation surrounded by antagonistic, armed anti-imperialist forces.
US tech monopolies in the region have also been hit. Meta announced temporarily closing its offices in Tel Aviv, and Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have been struck by Iranian drones.
US imperialism’s promise of safety in return for the US military presence in Gulf countries has been exposed yet again as a farce. The US presence in those countries has turned them into targets. Their economies have been severely hit through the targeting of oil and gas facilities that prop them up.
All of this creates an environment hostile to tourism and investment that the reactionary governments of these semi-colonies rely so heavily on, posing existential crises to them.
It is likely that the inter-imperialist contradiction will be influenced in ways not favorable to the US imperialists, as gas prices rise and shipping routes are cut off by the resistance forces, embargoes on Russian oil have already relaxed.
The Dubai International Financial Center following a drone strike. Credit: Press TV.
US Imperialism is a Giant with Clay Feet
Iran has once again proved the US and its lackeys mighty in form but weak in essence, exposing the fundamental strategic weakness underlying their military blackmail and arrogance.
Trump claimed that the US Navy will “begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible,” in an effort to bring down soaring oil prices that have weakened the status of US imperialism and increased dissent among the masses in the US who already overwhelmingly do not support the war.
An Iranian military official responded, “Iran strongly welcomes the escorting of oil tankers and the claimed presence of US forces to facilitate passage through the Strait of Hormuz.” He added, “In fact, we are awaiting their arrival.”
US officials have publicly stated they are unable to commit to a timeline to reopen the Strait, indicating they lack the initiative in the war.
This has further been corroborated by US Senator Chris Murphy. After receiving a two-hour classified briefing on the war by the Trump administration, Murphy criticized US war plans as “incoherent and incomplete”, saying the US has no plans but to continue carrying out assassinations of leaders and bombing weapons facilities. “They don’t know how to get [the Strait of Hormuz] safely back open,” Murphy wrote on social media.
In another embarrassment for the Trump administration, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrongly claimed on social media that the US Navy successfully escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz before later deleting the post.
When the US attempted to open the Red Sea by attacking Ansar Allah, US forces retreated after a few weeks, unable to achieve their goal. US monopoly media reported it was the most intense naval conflict for the US since World War 2.
Iran has also dismissed the threats of the deployment of US troops. Iran’s foreign minister was asked by an NBC reporter if he was afraid of a US ground invasion after the Trump administration floated the idea of a brief invasion to steal Iranian uranium. “No, we are waiting for them,” the Iranian official calmly responded, “Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”
After the US and Israel have threatened their largest strikes of the entire war on Tuesday, an Iranian official called the attacks a “window of opportunity” to “either kill a number of [US-Israeli forces] or take them prisoners.”
National Resistance is Invincible
US lackeys in the Middle East have imposed military censorship, banning coverage of the strikes of resistance forces. US monopoly media extends this blackout, portraying Iran and its allies as largely ineffective and weak. However, Iran’s indigenously produced suicide Shahed Drone has broken through the blackout as an imperialist nightmare. The unmanned drones cost between $20-$50 thousand dollars to produce, about 100 times cheaper than the munitions used by the US and its lackeys to strike them down.
The fear of the imperialists is apparent in a recent New York Times article on them:
“Iran has fired off more than 2,000 one-way drones since the United States and Israel started attacking it on Saturday, and some reached their targets, despite billion-dollar air defense systems. It’s a looming problem—not just in the Middle East, but everywhere. In a world where attack drones are cheap, and defending against them expensive, the bill could become unsustainable over time.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, darling of the Democratic Party mafia, has attempted to reassure Californians that “there is no imminent threat” after the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a panicked and unverified warning to law enforcement agencies in that state regarding supposed threats of Iranian drone strikes. All of this only confirms that the US imperialists are more afraid than their projections of strength let on.
US monopoly media report that the US military effectively has no solution to the Shahed drone. They are cheap. They are relatively easy to construct and do not require factories to produce, allowing production to be decentralized and clandestine. They can be launched from trucks, meaning they are mobile and harder to track and target. They are precisely damaging to imperialist forces, which rely heavily on expensive equipment and relatively immobile equipment.
According to Forbes, Shahed drones were responsible for significant damages at US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, including the annihilation of US troops at the latter, as well as hits on the US embassy and CIA station in Saudi Arabia.
While US imperialism has gone so far as to reverse engineer this Iranian invention, it cannot have nearly the same level of effectiveness. The US and Israel rely on genocide to try to accomplish their aims, and therefore precise strikes with low payload weapons against a large enemy with decentralized forces can do relatively little compared to its effectiveness against the concentrated, expensive weaponry of the aggressors.
More broadly than a single weapon, the Shahed drone symbolizes the inevitable defeat of imperialism by the people of the world—how the strengths of imperialism disintegrate through the bravery and creativity of the masses.
Wars of National Resistance are the Base Force of the World Proletarian Revolution
These chapters of national resistance wars accelerate the total collapse of imperialism. The heroic wars for national liberation are the base force in the process of the overthrow of imperialism internationally. They substantially weaken imperialism, while revolutions with the proletariat at their head are the leading force that will deal the final blows to imperialism.
The coordination of national resistance across the Middle East provides insight into the development of World Proletarian Revolution, the unfolding of people’s war first in individual countries in the storm centers of the World Proletarian Revolution, then linked up regionally into a massive conflagration that will consume imperialism, bureaucratic capitalism, and feudalism bit by bit wiping them off the face of the world.
The aftermath of joint missile strikes conducted by Iran and Hezbollah in an Israeli-occupied territory. Credit: Press TV.
Who Holds the Leash?
One expression of the war of aggression and its lack of popularity among the masses is to raise the question “Why are we going to war for Israel?” leading to some false answers that Israel controls the US government and its foreign policy.
The reality is that US imperialism and its foreign policy run the occupation forces in Palestine known as the Israeli state.
The Nazi-Zionist state of Israel is a vicious mad dog which must be put down. However, we must not allow for confusion on who holds the leash. The Zionist occupation of Palestine was engineered as a garrison for US and British imperialism since its origin and it has been enhanced over time. When the corrupt and decadent regime of the Shah was overthrown in 1979 by the Iranian revolution, the US imperialists lost their main garrison in the region. Since then, they have been condemned to dump more money and weapons into the hands of Israel, who due to its size will never offer the strategic support to the defense of US imperialism that the old Iran could. Hence, US imperialism has no option but to bloat its lackey Israel with the aim to expand it into Iran to re-assert its control over the oppressed nation.
The imperialists know that their dreams of returning the dynasty are just that, dreams, and so it banks on the strategy of expanding its Zionist garrison into “Greater Israel”, which is far deeper than the deranged ramblings of Netanyahu.
Real and False Internationalism of Those in the US Opposing the War
US imperialism is the number one enemy of the people of the world; it has earned the nickname bestowed on it by the Iranian masses, “Great Satan,” and it has earned it in endless wars and genocides. It is imperative that the people of the US who have every reason to befriend the people of Iran know this. It is imperative that they proceed in the true spirit of internationalism and do not allow themselves to be taken in by performative condemnations of the “Iranian regime.”
Liberal scoundrels begin all conversation with the disclaimer against Iran; they pretend to support some national force which simply does not materially exist, much like the ramblings of the revisionists on October 8th. One cannot really oppose the imperialist war of aggression unless one commits to defending the right to self-determination of the oppressed nations, no matter one’s ideological and political disagreements with their state.
Such idealism as opposing the war without support for the anti-imperialist forces stinks of Leon Trotsky’s “internationalism” which condemned the Soviet Union for military and economic support to the Chinese Nationalists, a just and correct policy at that moment in history. All efforts must be made by class conscious internationalists in the US especially to defeat all attempts to conflate the problems of the Iranian state with the imperialist aggressor. All efforts must be raised to morally support the actual armed resistance to US imperialism and not the false internationalism of rooting for a fantasy team which has not emerged as a reality.
The task of the Iranian people is pending, and must pass without interruption through the defense of their homeland from the imperialist invaders and their lackeys. Their war is a war of national liberation against imperialism, and it must be based on all classes who oppose the invaders right now, be that the Mullahs or any other. It is the task of the proletariat of Iran to utilize this war, which they are currently not organized to lead, in their own strategic interests. By expelling the invaders with the just and correct perspective of the united front, they temper themselves to reconstitute their Communist Party and complete the democratic revolution once, and only once, the invader is repelled and humiliated. Any other perspective which denies moral support to those fighting the US imperialists is dishonest and treacherous on the basis that it seeks, intentionally or not, to divide a besieged people, a people no one wants to see divided more than the US imperialists.
When we are inevitably blasted and accused of morally supporting the draconian theocratic and ideologically backward regime in Iran, we issue a resolute yes! Yes, but with the clarity that our support for it extends only so far as its role in combating and resisting US imperialism. We cannot and do not align with their worldview or strategic objectives. The principal aspect of the Iranian government now is that they are at war with US imperialism, a war US imperialism has already lost, and so they are heralds of the ultimate defeat of US imperialism and its expulsion from the region. Their martyrs are anti-imperialist heroes, and their soldiers who live and die fighting the invaders are part of the world revolution against imperialism; this is the main thing.
Image: Thousands rally on International Quds day in Ahvaz, Iran, March 13, 2026. Credit: International Quran News Agency.
I just received an Oliver Mtukudzi disc in the mail , which prompted me to watch a video or two of his . His son died in a car accident in 2010 , and Oliver passed away in 2019 from heart failure due to complications with his diabetes .
Here is a beautiful song written by his son , on which he played also .
Amazon Ordered Work to Continue Around Body of Worker Dead on Warehouse Floor
A worker collapsed and died on the floor of an Amazon warehouse in Troutdale, Oregon, on April 6, as managers ordered employees to keep working around his body for more than an hour after emergency services were called.
Workers say management told them to “just turn around and not look” at their dead coworker and to “get back to work,” according to accounts reported by The Western Edge.
The 46-year-old man collapsed and struck his head on the concrete floor, according to workers and 911 call recordings. One caller reported heavy bleeding from the man’s head. A worker began performing CPR and called for help, while a manager prevented another CPR-trained worker from assisting.
Amazon blamed the worker’s death on a “pre-existing medical condition”. The monopoly stated they continued operations that day to protect the privacy of the deceased worker and avoid distracting first responders. Amazon’s statement did not explain how workers continuing to sort and move packages near their dead coworker’s body achieved that.
Workers told The Western Edge the man worked as a “tote runner,” a physically taxing job involving hauling stacked bins across long warehouse aisles and supplying materials to other stations. Workers at the facility, called PDX9, report staffing reductions in that role have increased workloads and physical strain.
The monopoly told workers they would be paid for the remainder of the day and offered unpaid leave, but has yet to pay those wages, according to a worker who spoke with The Western Edge.
Amazon said OSHA classified the death as non-work-related. OSHA has previously issued the same determination after three workers’ deaths at Amazon facilities New Jersey in 2022 during a heat wave which coincided with the monopoly’s “Prime Day,” itself infamous for ratcheting up work tempos for warehouse workers and delivery drivers.
Recently installed sound-dampening curtains at PDX9 have reduced ventilation and increased temperatures in the facility, according to workers. A 2019 investigation by Reveal found PDX9 had the highest injury rate among 23 Amazon warehouses reviewed using OSHA data, with more than a quarter of workers reporting injuries in a single year.
Amazon has a serious injury rate reported to be roughly twice the warehouse industry average in 2024 and has a history of rabid union-busting. In December 2023, workers at a Colorado warehouse said management concealed a deceased coworker behind boxes so operations could continue.
Alongside other logistics monopolies, Amazon has expanded automation across its network in recent years, leading to layoffs and higher work tempos.
Amazon reported $716.9 billion in net sales in 2025.
Image: Amazon Fulfillment Center in Troutdale, Oregon. Credit: Tedder on Wikimedia
I listened to The System Works For Them , a highly political LP by punk band Aus Rotten who were from Pittsburgh . I hadn't listened to it in ages , and it's well worth the time . Do it .
It's not surprising to hear that suicides among soldiers from the fascist state of israel are surging .
No matter how thorough the fascist indoctrination is , the screams and images of dead children will haunt you . Asshole leader netanyahu doesn't have to worry about that though , as he is comfortable far away from any killing .
Suicides Surge: 11 Israeli Soldiers, Police Dead in April – Report
11 suicides among Israeli soldiers and police in April as mental health crisis deepens due to Gaza genocide, wars.
Key Developments
11 Israeli soldiers and police died by suicide in April, according to Haaretz data.
Six were active-duty soldiers; three were reservists; two were police officers.
Haaretz reported 22 soldier suicides in all of 2025, underscoring the scale of the increase.
At least 11 Israeli soldiers and police personnel have died by suicide since the beginning of April, according to a report published on Sunday by Haaretz.
According to the report, six of those who died were active-duty soldiers, while three were reservists who had taken part in the genocide in Gaza but were not in active service at the time of their deaths.
Two additional cases involved Israeli police officers, including a Border Police conscript.
The report also notes that at least 10 active-duty soldiers have died by suicide since the beginning of 2026, a separate figure that refers only to serving soldiers and excludes reservists and police.
Trend Since Genocide
The latest figures add to a broader trend identified in previous reporting by Haaretz, which has documented a rise in suicides among Israeli soldiers since the start of the Gaza genocide.
In a February 2026 feature, the newspaper reported that soldiers who served in Gaza later died by suicide, including cases not formally recognized as military deaths.
The report pointed to psychological distress following deployment, including cases occurring after soldiers had completed their service.
Haaretz had reported that 22 Israeli soldiers died by suicide in 2025, the highest number in 15 years.
The April 2026 figure alone—11 cases across soldiers and police—amounts to roughly half of the total recorded for the entire previous year.
According to the Haaretz investigation, the rise in suicides is linked to sustained psychological pressure on personnel, particularly during prolonged military operations over the past three years.
Previous reporting has also referred to “moral injury” and trauma among soldiers who served in Gaza.
Gaza Genocide
The developments come amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, marked by the mass killing of Palestinian civilians and the widespread destruction of the enclave.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, including over 21,000 children.
UN data further indicates that more than 38,000 women and girls have been killed, reflecting the disproportionate impact on civilians.
Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, and thousands of victims remain trapped under rubble, with the overall death toll widely considered an undercount.
Independent studies suggest that the true number of deaths may be significantly higher when accounting for those missing or killed indirectly due to the collapse of healthcare, hunger, and disease.
Millions of lives have been lost or destroyed , but the ruling class doesn't care . Their profits mean more to them than anything else on earth . Billions of dollars are being spent to kill innocent civilians , while any meager help for the people , even in the belly of the beast , is disappearing . Taking this shit down is long overdue .
Poor and working people need their money spent on human services, not war. New York City, Jan. 20, 2025.
Working and poor people in the U.S. are wondering every day about whether they can make ends meet and the added effect of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Gas prices, which are now astronomical, were one of the first things that popped in their faces. Workers are facing looming budget cuts. How has U.S. government spending — or lack of spending — affected people? How has this developed historically across the world?
The U.S. spent heavily on arming Western Europe against the Soviet Union during the period of the Cold War. Troops and weapons were spread across the continent, purportedly to deter the Soviet Union. U.S. imperialism now wants European countries to spend more on their militaries and turn the region into one big military base. Germany has spent much less on its military compared to the U.S., prioritizing cradle to grave health care and pensions for its people.
However, in Europe the population is aging faster; more time is spent collecting pensions due to longer life expectancies, making pensions cost more. As a result, countries raise taxes, cut benefits and borrow money — actions not popular with poor and working people. France will spend 3.5% of its budget to improve its military. That would require a 10% increase in taxes, including the wealth tax. France will likely cut spending for social services. Welfare spending is one-third of the French government’s budget, making things like “overhauling pensions” highly unpopular.
Europeans are now urgently demanding relief at the gas pump.
Here in the U.S., workers are also facing a crisis. Mary Kaessinger and Edward Yudelovich wrote in Workers World in 2017: “The looming budget cuts proposed in the U.S. Congress would decimate Medicaid, often a lifeline for elderly and disabled people. Loss of funding for needed services would mean a death sentence for untold numbers.” (workers.org/2017/07/32338/). The situation is far more dire in 2026. For example, right-wing capitalist politicians want to cut personal attendant services by $68 million. These funds enable people with disabilities to stay out of institutions and live in their own homes. Service Employees Union Local 1199 is among those mobilizing against this cut.
In the U.S., 6 million households receive assistance with heating and cooling bills, often from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal aid program that President Donald Trump seeks to terminate. Instead, Trump wants to fund a larger and more expensive military: “military protection above all else” is his mantra. Overall, Trump wants to slash $73 billion next year in education, health care, childcare, food subsidies, etc., and increase the military by $400 billion. (costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/).
Eric Morrissette, former Acting Under Secretary of Commerce under the Biden-Harris Administration,explained: “In total, from October 2023 through September 2025, the U.S. spent between $9.65 billion and $12.07 billion on military activities across the wider Middle East.” This was before the current war on Iran. Morissette added, “Economists estimate that every $10 rise in crude translates to roughly 25 cents at the pump.”
This is on top of “an estimated average cost of $600 to $800 per household in 2026, with that figure rising toward $1,000 should remaining tariffs be made permanent, according to Yale Budget Lab’s analysis following the Supreme Court’s February 20th ruling on emergency tariffs.”
Morissette concluded that the cost of war “falls hardest on those who fill their tanks, buy their groceries and pay their bills: the poor, the underemployed and those least equipped to absorb rising prices and stagnant wages.” (Bay State Banner, March 26)
The seeds of an uprising are present. Let us continue to “Organize, organize, organize!”
