You may not be particularly worried about nuclear war. But if you care about the health and justice of our communities, there is a good reason for you to pay attention to our country’s nuclear arms program. It’s the money.

The United States plans to spend up to a trillion dollars modernizing our nuclear arsenal. This “money that could be used instead to fund badly-needed programs for jobs, schools, and housing in Boston and other cities,” as the Boston City Council said in their July 2014 resolution. Boston and many other cities around the world have joined the coalition Mayors for Peace, who pledge to stand with the mayor of Hiroshima in calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020. They will be one of many voices calling on our nation’s leaders to honor the Non-Proliferation Treaty when it comes up for review at the United Nations this April. You can join them at a conference and rally in New York City on April 24-26.

Where do we want our taxes to go? To strengthen our communities? Or to build deadlier bombs?