Global Tax on Arms Sales to Fight World Hunger

This is a bit dated, but I was just catching up on my reading of one of my favorite Latin Americanist columnists, Andres Oppenheimer, and came across this little gem in his 9/23/04 column written for The Miami Herald. He opens with the following sentence:

You may never have noticed if you read most U.S. newspapers, or watch American television, but 113 countries -- not including the United States -- teamed up at the United Nations this week to demand a tax on arms sales to fight world hunger.

First, I have to say that I am one of the many who did NOT know about this initiative and about the U.S. government's short-sighted, but typical refusal to join with the majority of the world's nations in an effort that is nothing but good all-around: tax the tools of destruction and killing, and use the proceeds to defeat hunger and save lives. If you want to read this declaration, referred to as the "New York Declaration: Action Against Poverty and Hunger," click here.