Congressman Rangel had the right idea when he introduced legislation to reinstitute the draft. By reinstating the draft he was trying to spread the costs of the war among all Americans so that our soldiers aren't the only ones sacrificing for the continuing occupation of Iraq. Well, if we can't make those who supported this war fight in it, we should at least make them pay for it.
We shouldn't allow the Bush Administration to continue to hide the true economic costs of the war from the American people while they pile on more debt for our children. Democrats should institute a new Iraq War Tax. This is not only good policy but good politics.
We have spent over $350 billion on Iraq so far and are poised to spend another $127 billion (over $1000 per household) (total costs are estimated to be $1-2 trillion). Of course, none of this expense has been paid, it is all being passed on to our children and grandchildren. The national debt is now over $8.6 trillion ($72,000 per household) and our long-term unfunded liabilities are $46.4 trillion.
One of the great paradoxes of the Iraq war, is that neoconservatives argue that we are engaged in WWIII, and yet this global struggle isn't important enough to warrant actually paying for it.
This country can choke itself to death piling up military expenditures just as surely as it can defeat itself by not spending enough for protection.
Dwight Eisenhower
Now John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and George Bush are actually arguing for sending more troops to Iraq in one last desperate gamble with other people's lives. While George Bush is willing to send other people to Iraq, he is not willing to sacrifice their own tax cuts for the wealthy. So far the Democrats have failed to point out the blatant hypocrisy of this position.
By instituting an Iraq War Tax we can bring the staggering economic costs of the war to the public's attention, improve the ailing fiscal health of the country, and cement the Democrats image as the party of responsible fiscal management.
More than any other issues the occupation of Iraq and the huge debt have turned conservative voters against the neocons in office. By instituting an Iraq War Tax Democrats will prove they are serious about dealing with both problems.
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few...No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare
James Madison 1795
The current economic policies are simply not sustainable. If the Bush tax cuts are made permanent and discretionary spending increases at just the same rate as GDP, debt per capita could exceed GDP per capita by 2030.
It is immoral to burden on our children with a massive debt, but making them pay for the war in Iraq is totally unconscionable, the vast majority of Americans know this. If Democrats want to act responsibly they need to raise taxes and get spending under control. Of course, Republicans are hoping the Democrats raise taxes so they can tar them with the "tax and spend liberal" label. Democrats can undermine this Republican attack by clearly tying the tax increase to the staggering costs incurred by George Bush's monumentally stupid decision to invade Iraq. There is simply no way to credibly argue that our children should pay for what General Odom called the "greatest strategic disaster in United States history."
On the other hand, there are many strong arguments Democrats can use for instituting this tax. In addition to the moral argument that we should pay our own debts, there is a powerful national security argument. One of the stated goals of Osama Bin Laden is to bankrupt the U.S. He probably never dreamed it would be so easy.
"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.
He said the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, "using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers."
"We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat," bin Laden said.
He also said al Qaeda has found it "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration."