PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

The Defense Budget Sleight of Hand That’s Costing You Billions

  • February 10, 2011
  • Jim Arkedis

Look, I get it. If you’re not a budget wonk, I can understand how you might not care about this stuff. But if you’re a progressive and you’re concerned about the Tea Party destroying the EPA for no good reason, then that’s reason to pay attention.

I’ve written a policy memo about something else that is crucial to understand if we want to even the discussion of getting Defense spending under control: it’s simply vital that we end the practice of supplemental war funding bills.

Wait! Wait! Don’t fall asleep. Seriously. We’ve wasted $200 billion over the last ten years through a little-discussed system of back-door Pentagon budgeting, which essentially funds the stuff on DoD’s wish list by falsely calling them “emergency war necessities.” Why, for example, did Congress give Don Rumsfeld an $11 billion slush fund to spend as he pleases without any Congressional oversight?

We have to end this systematic abuse of your taxpayer dollars — start reading here to find out how.

Read the policy memo

Related Work

Op-Ed  |  July 24, 2026

Ainsley and Mattinson in Politico Magazine: A New Report Offers a Stark Warning to Centrists in France

  • Claire Ainsley Deborah Mattinson
In the News  |  July 21, 2026

PPI in The Times of London: ‘Neoliberalism’ was good enough for Tony Blair

  • Will Marshall
Op-Ed  |  July 19, 2026

Ainsley and Mattinson for The Observer: Why working-class voters have turned their backs on Labour

  • Claire Ainsley Deborah Mattinson
Press Release  |  July 17, 2026

Trump’s Claims on Election Security, Foreign Influence Do Nothing but Weaken America’s Trust in Elections

  • Danielle Steitz
Op-Ed  |  July 17, 2026

Marshall for The Hill: It’s Time to Retire ‘Rigged System’ Populism

  • Will Marshall
In the News  |  July 10, 2026

Jacoby on CNN: The impact of Ukraine Patriot System Manufacturing and What It Is Like to Endure a Russian Attack

  • Tamar Jacoby
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2026 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings