The Cost of War- 12 Billion Dollars a Month

I have written several times in this blog about the economy today and how that it has affected me personally, hence the title of it. I have seen the good times and, more recently, the not-so-good times. The people of this country, as a whole, are suffering and being slowly strangled in a web of debt and despair. About the only ones to prosper in this economy are the super rich, the CEO's, the ones who don't worry about how they are going to pay their next light bill or how they can save more on their next grocery store run.

In the bigger picture, signs of the country's decay can be seen everywhere. Crumbling roads and bridges, lack of basic public services, small towns decimated by job loss when the only factory in town moves overseas...the list goes on and on.

Meanwhile, in the nation's capitol, such petty concerns are not that important. The politicians, when not patting themselves on the back or giving themselves the latest pay raise, continue to spend (borrowed) money like drunken sailors. This story illustrates this point clearly:

"Congressional analysts say the boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war there and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month. All told, Congress has appropriated $610 billion in war-related money since Sept. 11, 2001. That's roughly the same amount that was spent on the war in Vietnam, taking inflation into account. Iraq alone has cost $450 billion. The figures come from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which provides research and analysis to lawmakers. For the 2007 budget year, CRS says, the $166 billion appropriated to the Pentagon represents a 40 percent increase over 2006. If Congress approves President Bush's pending request for another $147 billion for the budget year starting October first, the total bill for the war on terror would reach more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars."

Three-quarters of a trillion dollars. Makes you feel good, huh? While many of us here worry every single day about every penny that we have, this country has spent $610 billion (borrowed) dollars in war-related money in only six years! This is outrageous. And the kicker is that every single year, the money Congress appropriates to the Pentagon skyrockets while we 'little people' are told that our public services must be cut because they need to be frugal with the 'people's money'.

The sad reality is that the decline in the overall state of the nation and economy have taken place in small incremental baby steps and many do not realize just what has been lost, stolen or plundered. Add to that the many who have been brainwashed for the last twenty five years or more that government is bad and has no role in providing for its citizens and you find a population that is apathetic in many ways.

In the real world, people can't just live on credit cards and spend, spend, spend. Well, government can't survive on borrowed money forever, either. If this out of control spending is not reigned in, we are going to suffer a financial hangover like never seen before...