The Cost of the Iraq War (Rep. Keith Ellison)
April 16th, 2008
As millions of Americans file their taxes today, it is critical that we take time reflect on our nation’s spending priorities.
Our taxes support our federal budget and a budget is a moral statement about who matters in our society. A budget is a reflection of our own humanity. It talks about who counts, who doesn’t and what are our priorities.
So what are our priorities?
Well, 43 cents out of every dollar we are paying in taxes today are going to the military.
The Iraq War has already cost U.S. taxpayers a staggering $526 billion in direct costs and roughly $1.3 trillion to the economy. That’s $16,500 for each U.S. family of four, or roughly $3 billion for each Congressional district in the country.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz calculates that the eventual cost of the war in Iraq will be about $3 trillion.
The costs of direct military operations (excluding the long-term medical costs for our returning troops) already exceeds the costs of the Vietnam War and more than double the cost of the Korean War.
The cost of the War in Iraq for Minnesota taxpayers has been $12 billion for the entire state; 3 billion for Hennepin County (the largest county in my district), and $770 million for the City of Minneapolis (the largest city in my district).
For the same amount of hard-earned tax dollars, we could have provided almost 400,000 5th Congressional District residents with health care, hired almost 24,000 elementary school teachers, or provided 5th District residents with nearly 9,000 affordable housing units.
A recent poll found that 89% Americans believe the war Iraq has contributed to the economic downturn here at home, yet many of President Bush’s allies in Congress, like Senator McCain, are still 100% behind same failed Bush policies that led to both the downward economic spiral and the endless, costly War in Iraq.
While we spend over $12 billion a month in Iraq, the Iraqi government is enjoying a $60 billion budget surplus.
Enough is enough. It’s time to let the Iraqi government take responsibility for themselves.
It’s time to offer our troops and their families the best kind of support: bring them home safe.
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