Sacrificing for the Nation in Time of War

It should not only be the troops who make the sacrifice in a time of war; the rest of us should sacrifice, too!
by Charlie Leck

I have been stunned by the number of people – common people in their letters to the editors and in their seldom read blogs – and major opinionators of all kinds – who are suggesting that all Americans should be making a sacrifice if the nation is going to be at war.

I am taken by the idea and I want to promote it. I also want to write to my Senators about it and to my Congressman. Perhaps you should do the same.

Our activities in Iraq, since George W. Bush made the decision to invade that nation in 2003, have cost us far more than 3 trillion dollars. Much of that money has disappeared into the pockets of corrupt, fraudulent people. Some it was used purposefully to bribe Iraqi officials to gain their cooperation. The point is that it takes a great deal of money to fund a war.

And now we move our military activities in Afghanistan up to a point equal to what we have done in Iraq. Can you imagine what it is going to cost us in the next two years, until we get to Obama’s “date-certain” when we will leave that nation?

The U.S. Congress should be told that we should pay for those military activities in real dollars from real people all across the nation. There should be, and there must be, a war tax. Yes, tell the Congress to tax us and tax us now! If we choose to war, let’s choose to pay for it! Make the tax fair! Make those with the big incomes pay more and tax those with little incomes little. Waive the tax for any immediate family of active service men and women – for parents if the service person lives at home or for wives/husbands and children of married servicemen.

Tax us so much that we actually pay for the war in totality. When we feel the pain, we will think more clearly about this war and whether it is what we really want.

The point is no more wars on credit cards! Pay for them dollar by dollar in real dollars contributed by the American people.

Last evening, my wife was leaving a downtown parking ramp and the attendants at the exit gates were talking about the same thing. Hundreds of bloggers are saying it and so are many of the leading columnists in the country. It’s a simple message and it will bring the war home to each of us. Pay for it! Pay for it now! Pay for it with real money!

No more wars for which our children’s children will be required to pay.

Here's an editorial about it from the Pensicola News Journal

Here's Carl Levin on Huffington Post

Here's an ABC story about Wisconsin's David Obey's call for war tax!

Here's a column from The Economist in Britain about war tax!

Write or email your Senators and your Congressperson, suggesting we be taxed for war.

Copy from below and send a link to this blog site to your friends and suggest they read it and that they also ask their Washington representatives to vote for a war tax.

[http://chasblogs.blogspot.com/2009/12/sacrificing-for-nation-in-time-of-war.html]

I'm tired of watching our soldiers make the only sacrifice!