The White House is out here asking for a crazy amount of cash—we're talking $87.6 billion. Most of this massive bag is supposed to go straight back to the Pentagon to refill their pockets after they went to war with Iran. To make the whole thing look a little better to the public, they’re throwing some crumbs to American farmers and some cash for the Ebola response. But let's keep it 100: everyone knows where the real money is going, and it’s not to the communities that actually need it.

It’s the same old story every single time. Regular people are out here struggling with everyday survival, trying to keep the lights on and food on the table, and the government is trying to slide an $87.6 billion bill across the table for a conflict nobody on the block asked for. They always seem to have an unlimited credit card when it comes to dropping bombs, but the second people start asking for money to fix the schools, build affordable housing, or improve local communities, suddenly the pockets are empty.

But the White House picked a really bad time to try this hustle. The politicians on Capitol Hill—both the Democrats and the Republicans—are actually on the same page for once. They’re saying they don’t want any more military action, and they’re tired of the endless conflict. The pressure from the people who are sick of paying for these overseas wars is finally getting through to the politicians, making this a tough climb for the administration.

They putting farmers and Ebola response in the same package as the war money because they know how the game is played. It’s a classic bait-and-switch. If they just asked for pure war money, it would get rejected on the spot. So they wrap it up in a package with things people actually care about—like keeping our food supply safe and stopping a deadly disease—just so they can shame anyone who tries to vote no and call them heartless.

At the end of the day, that $87.6 billion doesn't just grow on trees. It’s coming out of the public's pockets, whether through taxes or inflation making everything at the grocery store cost twice as much. Writing a blank check to the Pentagon while our own neighborhoods are starved of resources is a bad look, no cap. The priorities are completely upside down, and people are starting to see right through it.

The politicians in Washington are supposed to be holding the keys to the safe, and this request is a major test. Are they going to actually stand up for the communities that voted them in, or are they just going to let the executive branch run wild with the checkbook again? The streets are watching to see who really has the courage to say no to more endless spending on conflict.