A study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that federal spending on defense and security has increased between 2001 and 2008 by 7.5%, while spending on major domestic discretionary programs such as education, health care, transportation, law enforcement, housing, the environment, etc. has declined by some 3.7%.

(See: Kogan, Richard, "Federal Spending, 2001-2008: Defense is a Rapidly Growing Share of the Budget, While Domestic Appropriations Have Shrunk". March 6th, 2008..

These kind of budget priorities are totally unacceptable to me as a taxpayer and young person trying to provide for myself in a struggling economy.

At what point will we stop supporting an economy based on violence, corruption and greed and start demanding a peace based economy that satisfies real human need?

While I agree that we do need protection and the ability to respond to an attack or disaster, I believe that we can meet this need in a defensive manner, engaging in preventative diplomacy as our number one option.

The problem is, war making is enormously profitable today and our government has made the mistake of hiring "mercenary" private, for profit forces- something even the war monger Machiavelli deemed totally taboo.

So while we can boycott and pressure defense companies and those that support them, and continue to voice our outrage at the policies being upheld in OUR NAME; I think we can also use this time to approach the situation strategically.

Take, for instance, the issue of nuclear weapons. This is one of the most wasteful pieces of the great behemoth that is the Military industrial complex, as well as one of the most offensive in terms of our environment and public health due to their uniquely destructive ability.

This being said, I would like to invite all people who want to see an end to excessive defense spending, and a shift to funding real need in our environmental crisis to join me and other youth on October 26th-27th, 2009 in an International Youth Dialogue for Nuclear Disarmament.

The International Youth Dialogue for Nuclear Disarmament will link youth activists, professionals and experts representing the peace, health, and environmental communities via live video conference. Venues include: Philadelphia, Santa Barbara, Mexico City, and Moscow.

The core aim of the Dialogue is to foster youth leadership, idea -sharing, and cross cultural understanding through citizen diplomacy and to build a comprehensive campaign for nuclear disarmament on this basis of cooperation.

The only way for us to squash the defense industry beast, reclaim our precious tax dollars and our voice in domestic and foreign policy is to band together and build a strong coalition across issues and interest groups. Because, in the end, we all have the same vision for a different world- one that is more just, clean, and peaceful than the one we were born into.

Please contact me, Emily, at emily.pna@gmail.com or at the Project for Nuclear Awareness offices in Philadelphia, PA at 215 546 3030.