In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes — and nonessential programs have been cut — to support the military effort. Yet during this Iraq war, taxes have been lowered and domestic spending has climbed. In contrast to World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, for most Americans this conflict has entailed no economic sacrifice. The only people really sacrificing for this war are the troops and their families.-Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, and author of “The Price of Liberty” (a book about how America has paid for its wars since 1776) as quoted by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, in his excellent Sunday column about how our kids are going to be paying a tremendous price for George Bush's war of choice.
I've been watching Ken Burns' "The War" series on PBS and let me tell ya, Franklin Roosevelt is rolling over in his grave over the irresponsible way Little Boy Bush has led America during this war. Presidents Woodrow Wilson (WWI), Harry Truman (Korean War), and even Lyndon Johnson (Vietnam) are doing the same. And Ronald Reagan is shaking his head in shame.
He's passed the buck for his war of choice onto his girls and their kids. If I were them, I'd slap the shit out of him. Because the America they're going to inherit will not be the eminent superpower he inherited in January, 2001. The tremendously high taxes they'll pay and the anemic economic growth they'll encounter...well...I cringe to think what THAT America will look like.
