Over 60% of Americans oppose the Iraq war and occupation, but our voice isn't yet an angry roar. Perhaps that's because we haven't had to pay the cost, yet, unless we've had a family member or friend die. BushCo has hidden the bodies and put the cost off-budget. The incoming Democrats are trying to put it back on- budget, but they run the risk being accused of ballooning the deficit if the public isn't crystal-clear on what is being paid for.
It's time for a War Tax. Until now, all we've been asked to do is go shopping. Now, we should do the math on this debacle and let everyone know the out-of-pocket cost to each of us in dollars.
I propose both a fuel tax and an windfall-profits tax on petroleum products. (We've done each before.) For the latter, we can allow a 10% return on the actual cost of distilling oil into gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, and other petroleum products. The government, representing us, should take the rest.
More after the break...
Let's keep the fuel tax low, because it will hit low-income citizens, small businesses, and truckers the most. But it should be noticeable, and it should be prominently identified as a War Tax. This fiasco is increasingly about oil, and Americans should know it. A 10% hike (right now about 25¢) would get everyone's attention, and yet we sustained these costs over the past year. Now is an ideal time to propose this tax, while fuel prices are still down.
The windfall-profits tax will take the wind out of the prices of oil stocks—fine. Investors will find their way to better returns, including alternative energy supplies. Efforts by oil-producing countries to manipulate prices will be dampened.
I have no doubt that Bush will veto such a tax. It's up to us to frame it right so that if he does, it backfires on him. Calling it a War Tax and focusing it on fuel are two ways to seize the high ground. We can make the War Tax a moral litmus test: "Will we pass the cost of this war on to our children, or do the right thing and pay for it now?"
If we're feeling really sarcastic, we can bring back War Bonds. "If you support the war, buy bonds to pay for it." We could challenge Little Green Footballs to see how much they raise, and then sit back and watch them pay for their glorious adventure. ;-)