Re: Cost of War Is Budgetary 'Elephant in the Room'

On Mar 6, 8:11�am, Tom Davos <tda...@gmail.com> wrote:

http://pdamerica.org/index.php

Cost of War Is Budgetary 'Elephant in the Room'

By State Senator John Marty
March 3, 2010, St. Paul, MN

In challenging times like ours, it is important to step back and look
at the big picture. In the Senate we wrestle with painful choices to
balance the state budget. Some factors affecting the budget are
outside of our control, some we can control, and others fall somewhere
in-between. While most legislative work addresses things we have
direct control over, we should at least understand other factors
influencing the resources available.

The cost of the Iraq and Afghan wars is the budgetary "elephant in the
room." It's enormous and it's right in front of us, yet we don't talk
about it as we face our economic woes. We don't need to get into
arguments about the wars to consider the burden war places on our
economy.

President Dwight Eisenhower, one of our nation's greatest military
leaders, late in life, expressed deep concern about what he called
"the military industrial complex." Eisenhower stated, "Every gun that
is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the
final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who
are cold and are not clothed."

During World War II, people were told that the war would require
blood, toil, tears, and sweat--real sacrifice, not just for soldiers
overseas, but also for the people back home.

In contrast, for the current Iraq and Afghan wars, people were told
they wouldn't have to sacrifice at all; taxes would be cut, not
raised. President Bush told people after 9/11 that the patriotic thing
to do was to "go shopping." Perhaps that was due to delusional
ideology, or perhaps it was a trigger-happy leader who recognized that
if people understood the true cost, the war would be unjustifiable.

What this means for Minnesota's economy is clear. In addition to the
incredible sacrifices made by so many military families, Minnesota's
share of the cost of the wars now exceeds $5 billion for every
two-year state budget cycle. Think of the investments that could be
made in our communities if the federal government invested that money
in the states instead of in the war. We could have avoided the layoffs
of teachers and police and firefighters and health care workers. Think
of the investments in living wage jobs, the investments in nursing
homes for seniors, the investments in early childhood and helping
at-risk kids succeed, the investments in public infrastructure.

Minnesotans working to build a better future face growing setbacks:
Young people on the "six year plan" to get a two year college degree
because they work two jobs to pay tuition. Parents struggle to find a
safe place for their young kids during the workday because of cuts in
sliding-fee child care. Employers unable to hire older workers because
their pre-existing conditions would send the employer's insurance
premiums through the roof. People with disabilities face shrinking
state programs that once covered them.

Those setbacks occur because states are unable to help people get a
fair shake due to budget problems. It is time to press Washington to
change its priorities away from war and into facing human needs in our
communities.

The military budgets of all other nations of the world combined,
barely exceeds the $693 billion the U.S. will spend on the military
this year. And the $693 billion doesn't include the $42 billion for
Homeland Security, nor the undisclosed budget for the National
Intelligence Program.

Based on population, Minnesota's share of total military spending,
including the two wars, is almost $12 billion every year. That's
two-thirds as large as our entire state general fund budget of roughly
$17 billion/year. Imagine what we could accomplish if we cut our
military spending by half. The savings would balance the state budget
and make huge investments in education and community development.

President Eisenhower said, "I hate war, as only a soldier who has
lived it can, as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its
stupidity." He was clear in his message: "This world in arms is not
spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the
genius of its scientists, the hope of its children."

Sixty years later, we can see that the endless war has a real cost
here at home. For the first time in our history, we are losing ground:
High school students today have a lower graduation rate than their
parents' generation. Fewer young adults have access to health care
than their parents have. Today's workers will be less likely to have a
decent pension than their parents enjoy. Eisenhower warned us. In
spending money on war, we are truly taking away the hope of our
children.

If we care about our future, ignoring the economic cost of war is just
as foolish as ignoring the human cost.

Sen. John Marty is running for Governor in Minnesota. �Visit his web
site:http://www.johnmarty.org.