Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities

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Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities (BLSP) was a US nonprofit made up of about 700 business leaders. It was started by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s. In late 2008, BLSP became a project of the Center for American Progress and was led by Krisila Benson. Its goal was to shift taxpayer money from military programs to social programs such as education, healthcare, and alternative energy, and to reduce the deficit. The group drew support from retired generals, admirals, and defense planners from both Republican and Democratic administrations who argued for cutting defense spending to fund social and economic programs. Members included business leaders and former military officers and advisers like Lawrence Korb, retired Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, Ted Turner, Paul Newman, R. Warren Langley, Frank Spinney, and Stansfield Turner. Ben Cohen also used Oreo cookies to explain the discretionary budget and BBs to illustrate the U.S. nuclear stockpile.