To the editor:

A headline on Tuesday’s Journal-World opinion page reads “Latin countries’ military spending rising.”

The problem exists in other parts of the world as well.

Years ago the United States Department of Agriculture subsidized U.S. farmers for not growing crops.

The United States government, and other industrialized nations, could subsidize arms manufacturers for NOT manufacturing weapons.

Arms manufacturers want money. Give them money to NOT produce an excess of weapons.

The subsidies could be given to arms manufacturers NOT to produce and sell weapons to a nation if such purchases would exceed X percent of the nation’s gross domestic product or some other benchmark of noneligibility to buy the weapons.

Mission accomplished.