
March 7th / 9th, 2008
"George Bush: The Six Trillion Dollar Man"
In September of last year I wrote about the staggering loss of life in the
Iraq war.
My column included data from a report by Johns Hopkins, in conjunction with
an independent team of epidemiologists (from the U.S. and Iraq) which proved
that over 655,000 innocent Iraqi men , women, and children had died since the
Bush invasion of March, 2003. Other estimates have now put that death toll
at well over 700,000. Add to that the 4,000 U.S. soldiers killed, and you
have reason enough to want our troops withdrawn immediately.
But in addition to the human cost of war, it has become increasingly clear
that our nation has also suffered a tremendous financial loss as well. In
fact, we are losing twice by continuing to fund Bush’s senseless crusade.
First, we wouldn’t have sustained loss of life overseas had we not financed the
war effort. And, second, the money we’ve spent in Iraq could have been used to
actually improve quality of life here at home.
For example, over 40 million Americans can’t afford healthcare insurance,
and those who can are facing annual increases in premiums of as much as 25%.
Most Republican politicians say that the way to fix the problem is to have
everyone eat healthy, exercise, and put some money away for a rainy day.
These idiots are steadfast in saying that we can’t afford to pay for universal
healthcare for everyone.
Well they’re right. So long as we’re wasting money on an illegal war, we
can’t pay for everyone’s coverage.
The Pentagon says we are spending $12 billion dollars per month on the war
in Iraq. But according to a new book by Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz,
those figures don’t accurately reflect the true costs involved. If you factor
in replacement of military equipment, and long term care for wounded
soldiers, Stiglitz says we’ve already spent about three trillion dollars in Iraq.
I’m no economics expert, but let’s do some simple math. The last census
reported 280 million people living in the United States. There are roughly 87
million families with an average of about 3.2 persons per household. Let’s
say an average family of four now pays about $8,000 in health insurance
premiums each year. The cost for our government to underwrite health insurance
for everyone would be less than one trillion dollars per year, and that’s
assuming our new President would do nothing to offer us more choices and more
affordable coverage than what we’ve been used to (the two Democratic candidates
say they would).
But Stiglitz goes on to predict that a continuation of the war, along with
future borrowing, and long term care for vets means that Bush’s war could cost
us at least six trillion dollars. By pulling out of Iraq and by formulating
some practical health insurance options, it is clear to see that we do indeed
have the money to pay for universal health care.
And here’s something else to think about. Just prior to the invasion, Mr.
Bush and his minions predicted that the war and associated reconstruction
costs could be recouped from Iraqi oil revenues. Guess how that’s working out?
Our bonehead invasion disrupted oil production which had been at least one
million barrels per day under Saddam. Even more telling, when Bush took
office, the price of crude was under $30 per barrel. Today it is over $100 per
barrel, and we’ll soon be paying $4 dollars per gallon at the pump. The only
time gas prices fell significantly was just prior to the 2004 election. Bob
Woodward wrote that Bush made a deal with his buddy Saudi ambassador Prince
Bandar bin Sultan to hold down costs until after the election, and I see no
reason to doubt that report.
And so here we are living in the land of the free, and we can’t afford to
drive our cars or pay for our health insurance. Yet the war machine rages on
and both political parties keep funding it with no end in sight.
It’s enough to make you sick. But who can afford that?
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