'China threat' narrative needed to feed insatiable US military-industrial complex: SCMP

HONG KONG - The United States needs the "China threat" narrative to feed its insatiable military-industrial complex, according to an opinion piece recently published by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Without an "enemy," no taxpayer would fork out an average $1,087 for Pentagon contractors over 270 dollars for their children's subpar education, the article said on Sunday.

Citing the latest study "Where your 2022 tax dollars went" released by the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies, the article said, "the average American taxpayer sent $1,087 of their hard-earned money to Pentagon contractors in 2022, equivalent to 21 days of work."

"That's four times the amount they paid -- $270 -- for public education covering kindergarten to the last year of high school at grade 12," it added.

Domestic gun violence, educational failure, drug addiction, the mental health crisis, widespread homelessness, the extreme wealth gap, crime and a militarized police regime, all have complex interrelated causes, but government budgetary neglect is surely a big contributing factor, noted the article.