And $3 of your taxes will be directed to a fund dedicated to recouping the costs of the war.
Intriguing, no? Follow me please.
Do you want $3 of your federal tax to go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund?
That's what it says on our IRS tax return forms. The idea was publicly funding campaigns to reduce corporate and big donor clout. It's The $3 Dollar Tax Checkoff. I remember it was a dollar when we started it.
After I read Meteor Blades' usual excellent work, this time in Out Now. Best of Bad Options I was all prepared this morning to write a comment or diary of total despair about Iraq. See, I just don't think there is anything left for us to do there that can help. I felt even worse when I saw in this morning's paper that Bush is still committed to a "stable Iraq that can defend itself." Amazingly, I felt even worse when I heard John McCain say "There are still options for salvaging this."
Then I thought: wait a minnit. I'm smarter than the average bear, smart as these guys in power for sure. There's got to be something I can do here.
That's when I remembered part of "The McGovern Plan" in the aforesaid diary:
And for all its flaws, even occasional naïveté, the McGovern/Polk proposal has one very good element: using a big chunk of the 6300 tax dollars a second which are now being spent for the occupation to compensate families of Iraqis killed in the war, to pay for Iraqi companies to rebuild key portions of infrastructure, to hire international security forces, to reward exiled Iraqis with special skills who agree to return home, to retrain badly needed medical personnel. All in all, they suggest $17.25 billion. In my view, maybe half what is needed, but it's a start.
One of the problems here, however, is that we want to get out from under the financial burden of Iraq as well. That's when I remembered this simple sentence:
Do you want $3 of your federal tax to go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund?
How about we get real creative here. We implement that part of the McGovern plan, but also plan for its retirement as quickly as possible. We start like this:
Do you want $3 of your federal tax to go to a fund to stabilize Iraq?
According to the Federal Elections Commission,
For the general election, the law provides a fixed amount indexed to inflation. In 1976, each major-party nominee received $21.8 million. By 1992, reflecting inflationary trends, that amount grew to $55.2 million.
In the Presidential primaries, the total amount paid to campaigns varies from year to year. In 1992, 11 primary candidates received a total of $42.7 million in matching funds.
Not a bad start. Sure, the Iraq war and occupation costs
this much (whoohoo, look at `em spin!) which is way more than fifty mil, but you wouldn't step over it if it was laying on the street would you?. Now we apply it to Iraq but take it to the next level:
If you voted for George W. Bush to keep us safe in 2004, you may check here and $3 of your federal tax refund will go to a fund to stabilize Iraq.
Now we're getting somewhere. Fresh money. No one will miss $3 of their refund, right? That's like a Big Mac. Let's up the ante and make our tax form's first page look like this:
"Project Iraq Stabilization" Sponsorship Club--Check any or All that Apply
Check here if you want $3 of your federal tax to go to a fund to stabilize Iraq
If you voted for George W. Bush to keep us safe in 2004, you may check here and $3 of your federal tax refund will go to a fund to stabilize Iraq.
If you voted for George W. Bush to keep us safe in 2004 and believed George W. Bush in 2000 when he said he was against nation building and voted for him at least partially on that basis, you are entitled to join our GOLD club. Check here and a maximum of $30 of your federal tax refund will go to a fund to stabilize Iraq. You will receive a wallet card identifying your status as a "Project Iraq Gold Level Sponsor."
If you voted for George W. Bush to keep us safe in 2004, believed George W. Bush in 2000 when he said he was against nation building and voted for him at least partially on that basis, and agreed with any of the following: (i) "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"; (ii) "Iraqi oil revenues will pay for the reconstruction"; or (iii) "We will be greeted as liberators" you are entitled to join our PLATINUM club. Check here and a maximum of $300 of your federal tax refund will go to a fund to stabilize and rebuild Iraq. You will receive a wallet card identifying your status as a "Project Iraq Platinum Level Sponsor" and a large ribbon magnet saying "Support Iraqi Stabilization."
If you voted for George W. Bush to keep us safe in 2004, believed George W. Bush in 2000 when he said he was against nation building and voted for him at least partially on that basis, agreed with any of the following: (i) "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"; (ii) "Iraqi oil revenues will pay for the reconstruction"; or (iii) "We will be greeted as liberators" you are entitled to join our DIAMOND club. Check here and a maximum of $3,000 of your federal tax refund will go to a fund to stabilize and rebuild Iraq and support an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. You will receive a wallet card identifying your status as a "Project Iraq Diamond Level Sponsor," a large ribbon magnet saying "Support Iraqi Stabilization" and a commemorative mouse pad.
If you voted for George W. Bush to keep us safe in 2004, believed George W. Bush in 2000 when he said he was against nation building and voted for him at least partially on that basis, agreed with any of the following: (i) "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"; (ii) "Iraqi oil revenues will pay for the reconstruction"; or (iii) "We will be greeted as liberators" and supported Donald Rumsfeld right up until the 2006 midterm election, you are entitled to join our PLAGOLDMOND club. Check here and a maximum of $30,000 of your federal tax refund will go to a fund to stabilize and rebuild Iraq, support an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and develop energy alternatives to oil. You will receive a wallet card identifying your status as a "Project Iraq Plagoldmond Level Sponsor," a large ribbon magnet saying "Support Iraqi Stabilization," a commemorative mouse pad, and a valuable booklet of discount coupons redeemable at major national chain stores.
NOTE: The term "maximum" refers to the largest amount of money available depending upon size of refund. For example, you may apply for PLAGOLDMOND status but may be relegated to lesser status depending on the amount of funding you can actually provide. All premiums are subject to your funding to the full required club amount but sponsoring at multiple levels will entitle you to all premiums for each level of sponsorship selected and for which you qualify.
And it's written in IRS-ese so tax accountants can cope with it. This way, Bush's most ardent and affluent supporters can tangibly show how they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the President and help retire our Iraqi obligation without debt or a tax increase. They should jump at the chance--just thinking of it makes my head spin!
Now that this is done, I need to get to work on my next big idea: The "Social Security Fund Mega Bucks Give-Back Bonanza and Lottery."