It's the war economy, stupid

The war in Iraq has dropped from the top of the issues list in the presidential campaign.  It has also disappeared from the front pages of newspapers.  The hot topic now is the economic mess we find ourselves in, thanks to Bush's reckless driving.  He has crashed the economy into a light pole.

Focusing on the economy is perfectly understandable, given the current state of financial affairs.  What isn't understandable to me is why the candidates--the Democratic candidates, in particular--aren't tying the two issues together.  The economic stimulus packages that the various candidates are touting all run up tabs of about $140 billion.  That is almost exactly how much we're going to spend in Iraq this year alone.

The total cost of the war to date is over half a trillion dollars.  That works out to over $4,000 per household.  How much more economic stimulus could the candidates want?

Let's take it beyond Iraq.  The House recently passed a so-called "defense" spending measure (on a consensus vote of 369 - 46) that sends $649 billion to the Pentagon.  Total military spending represents over half of the entire U.S. budget.  Even worse, our "defense" spending comes to more money than the rest of the world combined.  Just what or whom are we defending against?

Is there a candidate out there who is willing to talk about the incredibly backwards state of our national priorities?  Apparently not.

Comments

[TD]

The benefits of the stimuli being proposed accrue mostly to industry, but they result in a loss in the value of the dollar and increased inflation which affect the poor and middle class the most.

The long term cost of war spending will be paid by our children. What hardened, vacant souls our leaders [sic] must have to give higher priority to a war for the benefit of US oil companies and the military/industrial complex than to the basic needs and security of our children and their children.

If we levied an immediate war tax on the wealthiest people -- enough to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and impose anti-warprofiteering regulations on the military/industrial complex, then the powers-that-be would quickly find a way to end these wars of volition. That money could then be used to repair the decaying schools and infrastructure of the country, providing jobs for its workers -- real benefits to the country.

[Paul George]

A war tax, anti-profiteering laws . . . An excellent plan. The only thing missing from your formula is an authentic political opposition in this country.