A Peace Dividend for All

Peace is not weakness — it is the courage to choose life over profit and humanity over war.

I am proposing a Peace Dividend, paid for by cuts to our bloated military budget. The Peace Dividend is a $1,000 annual payment to every adult American, delivered at Thanksgiving, funded by redirecting a portion of our ever-growing military budget. 

Since 2020, Pentagon spending has increased by more than $140 billion per year — even as families face rising costs for food, housing, and healthcare. The Peace Dividend ensures that when our nation chooses de-escalation over endless war, the benefits are shared directly with the people.

Reversing the most recent Pentagon budget increase by Trump, $160 billion, would more than pay for the Peace Dividend. The increase for Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion budget would pay for the peace dividend more than 3 times.

It’s simple, universal, and practical: fewer blank checks for militarization, and a material investment in working families, local economies, and national well-being.

• U.S. taxpayers paid $4.4 trillion to military contractors between 2020 and 2024. An independent audit of military contractors will show which ones are overcharging the government. Examples of abuse include $640 toilet seats and $7,600 coffee pots.

• The U.S. military budget has nearly doubled this century. Wasteful programs like the F-35 and outdated and dangerous weapons systems like ICBMs can safely be eliminated to free up billions of dollars per year for human needs.

• A global network of bases is unsustainable for us and the world. Instead of ruling with an iron fist, let’s bring our troops home to their families and focus on diplomacy.