How a country spends its money shows what it truly cares about. Governments always have to choose: do they spend on “Guns” (war) or “Butter” (schools and hospitals)? Today, the world is in a dangerous spot because some powerful nations are choosing guns, not just for themselves, but to force others into poverty. We need to stop thinking about just our own borders. If a child in the USA deserves a good school and a doctor, a child in Nepal or Iran deserves the exact same thing.
There is a clever but cruel strategy being used by the United States. On one hand, the USA spends a massive 18% of its wealth on its own people’s health. It tells the world it values human life. But on the other hand, it uses “Sanctions” like a silent weapon against countries it doesn’t like, such as Iran. Sanctions are basically an economic wall. By blocking trade, the USA makes it impossible for Iran to buy medicine or fund its schools. While American doctors have the best tools, Iranian hospitals run out of basic supplies because of these American rules. This is a “double standard” – saving lives at home while making people suffer abroad.
This “clever” policy actually destroys global peace. The USA often claims to bring “democracy,” but instead, it brings economic pain. When the USA puts sanctions on a country or starts a military operation, it forces that country to stop spending on education and start spending everything on defence just to survive. This is how peace is killed: a country that should be building universities is forced to build bunkers instead. For example, because of pressure and conflict, countries like Ukraine are now spending 34% of their wealth on war, leaving their schools empty.
We must understand that “Human Security” is more important than “Military Power.” If we want a peaceful world, we have to stop the “trickery” of sanctions and war. True peace will only come when we realise that the health of a person in Nepal is just as important as the health of a person in Washington. When big nations stop using their money to bully others and start using it to help the world learn and heal, only then will we have real peace. A budget should be a tool for helping people, not a weapon for breaking nations.
[The writer is based in New Delhi and can be contacted via Email:Abdullah.kashif0007@gmail.com]