“Every democracy must involve civil society in the process of establishing budgets, and all sectors of society must be consulted to determine what the real priorities of the population are. Lobbies, including military contractors and other representatives of the military-industrial complex, must not be allowed to hijack these priorities to the detriment of the population's real needs.”
![“Democracy is an excellent way of ensuring that nothing much gets done. There are always interests that might get trampled upon [and no elected politician would wish to make permanent enemies by trampling upon others' interests].” quote by Edward De Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d9d/edward-de-bono-2489_democracy_democracy-is-an-excellent-way-of-ensurin_2518854.jpg)
![“Their [the U.S.’s] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as ‘their home — their fortress.’ And good for them, I say. Well done!” quote by Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ec3/vladimir-putin-261_absolutes_their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolu_10791.jpg)
![“The only way you can do that [decrease taxes, balance the budget, and increase military spending] is with mirrors…” quote by John B. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a1d/john-b-anderson-110630_balance_the-only-way-you-can-do-that-decrease-ta_11507.jpg)
