thedrifter
12-27-06, 11:02 AM
Iraq funds: Bite the bullet
THE longer the war in Iraq drags on, the more likely it is that Congress will finally decide to do what it should have done from the day the U.S. military invaded - raise taxes to pay for it. Most
public attention on the war is understandably focused on the human cost: nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines dead, more than 22,000 wounded, many thousands more Iraqis dead. Many families, in the United States and in Iraq, will never be the same.
The war also carries a financial cost, an increasing burdens an unstable federal budget. Last year, the war in Iraq cost U.S. taxpayers about
$120 billion; the price for the current fiscal year is expected to top $170 billion.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere have cost over $500 billion. The Bush administration will ask Congress to spend an additional $100 billion or so on Iraq early next year, bringing that total to $600 billion.
The Vietnam War, adjusted for inflation, cost $549 billion. If U.S. troops remain in Iraq through 2010, the overall cost could reach $1 trillion.
The Iraq war also is adding other long-term costs to the national budget. The deficit for the 2006 fiscal year was
$248 billion. Deficits are projected to remain high over the next 10 years if Congress extends the Bush tax cuts due to expire at the end of 2010.
Something needs to give. Many Democrats in the new Congress propose to roll back at least some of the tax cuts of the past six years. They're right. Hiking the marginal income tax rate for the wealthiest taxpayers (those earning $200,000 per year or more) would raise about $800 billion over 10 years. And it would nearly pay for growing costs of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Ellie
THE longer the war in Iraq drags on, the more likely it is that Congress will finally decide to do what it should have done from the day the U.S. military invaded - raise taxes to pay for it. Most
public attention on the war is understandably focused on the human cost: nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines dead, more than 22,000 wounded, many thousands more Iraqis dead. Many families, in the United States and in Iraq, will never be the same.
The war also carries a financial cost, an increasing burdens an unstable federal budget. Last year, the war in Iraq cost U.S. taxpayers about
$120 billion; the price for the current fiscal year is expected to top $170 billion.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere have cost over $500 billion. The Bush administration will ask Congress to spend an additional $100 billion or so on Iraq early next year, bringing that total to $600 billion.
The Vietnam War, adjusted for inflation, cost $549 billion. If U.S. troops remain in Iraq through 2010, the overall cost could reach $1 trillion.
The Iraq war also is adding other long-term costs to the national budget. The deficit for the 2006 fiscal year was
$248 billion. Deficits are projected to remain high over the next 10 years if Congress extends the Bush tax cuts due to expire at the end of 2010.
Something needs to give. Many Democrats in the new Congress propose to roll back at least some of the tax cuts of the past six years. They're right. Hiking the marginal income tax rate for the wealthiest taxpayers (those earning $200,000 per year or more) would raise about $800 billion over 10 years. And it would nearly pay for growing costs of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Ellie