This is an intangible thing, but I think it’s a good bet that many Americans are putting off investments, whether in a new house or a new car, or even in a new business venture, because of fears of a wider war in the Middle East, or of an economic collapse here at home, or because of another jump in oil prices. Many people may not even be aware that they are making such calculations, and yet they are.
In short, Baily is wrong. The Iraq War is certainly having a profound negative effect on the US economy, in both short, and in long-term ways.
The worst of these effects will show up when, a decade or more hence, as the oceans are rising, coastal cities are being devastated by storm surges, and croplands are being parched, we will look back at the lost opportunities to act decisively on climate change that were squandered by an administration obsessed with making war on a group of Third World nations, and with grabbing control of a resource—oil--that it should have been working hard to replace altogether as an energy source. ______________ DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based journalist and columnist. His latest book is “The Case for Impeachment” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006, and now available in paperback edition). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy" and "Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"). His latest book, coauthored with Barbara Olshanshky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office (St. Martin's Press, May 2006). His writing is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
Thank you for writing such an insightful piece. I a member of MoveOn.Org and we are submitting findings from a poll done in my state (South Carolina) that shows voters in SC believe that the billions being spent for the war is damaging the economy here at home. We will be presenting this to one of Bushes "disciples" Lindsey Graham at his office here in Rock Hill on Thursday April 24th. I would love to sight your article and get it in as many hands as possible that day, as well as send this article to everyone I know. Again, thank you and keep pressing this most important issue!!
by
enid dennis (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 12:26:41 PM
If this were so, wouldn't our president act accordingly. No, he acts to protect and defend the citizens of this great and glorious country, this city on a hill. If he chopped down the cherry tree, he wouln't tell a lie!
Get on the band wagon and help the neo-cons save us from the hordes of the nefilim. Those nefarious conspiracy freaks, who shame the good, and loyal among the flock, They should be made to pay dearly for their distortions of the truth.
Do you remeber the tune that was on everyone's lips that caught the true patriotism and the family values of the late fifties, when Ike lead us out of the wilderness into the promised land!
Catch a falling pol and put him in your pocket, save him for a rainy day.
Catch a falling pol and line gold in his pockets, never let him get away.
Cause K Street will come and tap him on his shoulder, and he'll have a pocket full of dirty dollars.
So catch a falling politico and save him so he'll vote your way.
Wolfie wags his tail at you bad pups.
by
Wolfie (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 31 diaries, 1185 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 10:31:55 PM
It's not just the "cost of war"; it's the cost of MILITARISM
The real military budget, the one that includes all the hidden costs tucked away in the many nooks and crannies of our government, exceeds $1.1 trillion per year. Iraq spending is an important chunk of that to be sure. Our battle, however, should not be narrowly defined and focussed on the ravages to the economy that endless Iraq spending has caused. The "greater enemy" is militarism itself.
In this article, noted author Chalmers Johnson expounds on this theme:
There are three broad aspects to our debt crisis. First, in the current fiscal year (2008) we are spending insane amounts of money on "defense" projects that bear no relationship to the national security of the United States. Simultaneously, we are keeping the income tax burdens on the richest segments of the American population at strikingly low levels.
Second, we continue to believe that we can compensate for the accelerating erosion of our manufacturing base and our loss of jobs to foreign countries through massive military expenditures -- so-called "military Keynesianism," which I discuss in detail in my book Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. By military Keynesianism, I mean the mistaken belief that public policies focused on frequent wars, huge expenditures on weapons and munitions, and large standing armies can indefinitely sustain a wealthy capitalist economy. The opposite is actually true.
Third, in our devotion to militarism (despite our limited resources), we are failing to invest in our social infrastructure and other requirements for the long-term health of our country. These are what economists call "opportunity costs," things not done because we spent our money on something else. Our public education system has deteriorated alarmingly. We have failed to provide health care to all our citizens and neglected our responsibilities as the world's number one polluter. Most important, we have lost our competitiveness as a manufacturer for civilian needs -- an infinitely more efficient use of scarce resources than arms manufacturing. Let me discuss each of these.
If we define our struggle too narrowly, i.e. our opposition to the continued costs associated with the occupation of Iraq, I fear we will never bring about the changes in the national mindset we really need. It's time to engage in a serious national dialog about what our spending priorities should be. What expertise exists that could argue against a 75% reduction in "defense" spending? Who can properly weigh the risks of global warming against foreign military threats and set national spending priorities accordingly? Who can justify the maintenance and associated costs of more than 730 US military bases on foreign soil all over the world?
Militarism, not just the war and occupation in Iraq, is bankrupting the nation. Until we are able to look beyond the "tough on defense" mantra and demand real changes in our national spending priorities, America and Americans will continue to circle the drain.
by
welshTerrier2 (7 articles, 3 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 105 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 3:29:33 PM
That was why I mentioned the $0.43 per dollar of taxes that goes to military spending. But in this article I was specifically responding to the article in the NY Times about Iraq War spending and the US economy and oil prices.
by
Dave Lindorff (341 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 157 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 3:59:22 PM
The US economy is so intertwined with the Military Industrial Complex - it's so intertwined.
Sad part is, as our economy is melting down, so much of it relies on the MIC that they have to keep using "fear, war and the threat of fear and war" to keep us allowing them to pump money into the war machine.
When are we going to have had enough?
Interested in finding out more about the total military budget, break down by Congressional district... they seem to have their hands in every Congress person's district, lobbying our government 24/7/365 - how do we turn the tied, when our collective taxpayer money is being used against us so effectively?
by
August Adams (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 442 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 7:03:50 PM
The pinch on people's pockets, turned into a squeeze, and is morphing into a death grip. More articles like this are needed to expose the Thief in Chief.
Unfortunately, a great many have lost their powers of discernment prior to losing everything. You're pointing in the Right Direction, Sir!
by
boomerang (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 273 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 8:35:16 PM
10 comments
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