KC nuclear parts plant to get a huge budget boost. You're paying

Opinion KC nuclear parts plant to get a huge budget boost. You're paying | Opinion The Trump administration wants the Kansas City National Security Campus to get 37% more of your tax dollars. Reuters file photo The U.S. House and Senate have begun their work on the Trump administration's proposed military budget for fiscal year 2027, which takes effect this Oct. 1. The House authorized the first part of the proposed budget, $1.15 trillion, in a 216-212 vote under normal procedures, but those procedures allow a filibuster in the Senate and Republicans fell 10 votes short of the 60 votes needed to stop a filibuster. The second part of the proposed military budget will be sought through the budget reconciliation process, which avoids a potential filibuster in the Senate and will seek another $390 billion, which is $0.39 trillion. So, as the military budget is normally presented, the Trump administration is seeking $1.5 trillion. That is 69% more than was proposed in fiscal year 2024, the last time I studied this. The item most significant to Kansas City in the proposed military budget for 2027 is for operation of the Kansas City National Security Campus. It employees more than 7,000 people and produces 80% of the non-nuclear components of U.S. nuclear weapons. Its proposed 2027 budget is $2.2 billion. That is a 37% increase above its enacted 2026 budget. How does the U.S. government pay for a $1.5 trillion military expense? It primarily uses income taxes that individuals and corporations pay. Our population is about 343 million and there are roughly 33 million businesses in the United States. The Trump administration budget estimates that 2027 income tax collections will be about $2.9 trillion from individuals and $440 billion ($0.44 trillion) from corporations, a total of $3.3 trillion. If you pay a $1.5 trillion expense out of $3.3 trillion in income taxes, that is an astronomical 45% of those taxes. But what are you paying as an individual? Let's assume that corporate taxes are used to pay the expense in the same proportion they are of total income taxes, which is a little over 13%, and individuals cover the rest. Given a population of 343 million, each person would be paying about $3,900. Very few people reading this pay as much as $3,900 in income taxes as individuals or per person in their family. So, effectively, the entirety of your income tax payments would be going to the U.S. military. Are you happy with that? If not, tell your members of the U.S. House and Senate to oppose this proposed budget. Other obvious military spending is being ignored in only talking about the proposed $1.5 trillion for the Department of Defense, plus the Department of Energy nuclear weapons spending, plus minor items from other government departments. Most obvious is spending on veterans. It is budgeted at more than $480 billion in the proposed 2027 budget. Including that moves us up to spending 61% of all income taxes and you paying about $5,100 per person. Also being ignored is the fact that wars and excessive military spending have led to significant deficit spending and interest payments on the debt. Until the early 1970s through the Vietnam War, U.S. wars were the primary reason for government debt. Determining what part of interest on the debt to attribute to military spending is a subjective exercise, but several experts have suggested around 25%. The Trump administration's proposed budget estimates 2027 interest on the debt as $1.35 trillion. Twenty-five percent of that is $336 billion. Including that moves us up to spending 71% of all income taxes, and you paying about $5,900 per person. The facts are clear. The proposed Trump military budget is exorbitant, absorbing minimally 47% of all income taxes, but arguably 71% of all income taxes, with the average person needing to provide minimally $3,900 in income taxes, but arguably as much as $5,900. Finally, I ask you to think about your personal security. After all, military spending is presumed to provide U.S. citizens with personal security. What is security? Isn't it a home to live in, food to eat and healthcare when needed? The Trump administration takes away real security to support an exorbitant military budget. David Pack has served on the board of directors of PeaceWorks Kansas City for more than 25 years.