<no line in the budget for aid to Afghanistan>
All the talk about "nation-building" was, it's clear now, just PR, at least as far as Afghanistan is concerned. Once the "regime-change" is done, we're outta there, on to the next one down the AxisOfEvil list. Bush was never much of a fan of "nation-buidling", as he made clear while campaigning for President. Maybe they mean to do things differently in Iraq.
<cutting taxes without proportional spending cuts is just plain irresponsible>
The deficit is only partly due to tax-cutting, which has barely begun to kick in. Instead, it's because all fiscal discipline ended on 9/11/01. There is bi-partisan support for throwing billions at any and every problem that arises.
In the military, there is a large increase in spending for new needs. Meanwhile, all the "old needs", the Cold War weapons and forces, continue to get funding as well. As an example, why do we need any submarines? Or battleships?
If anyone gets hurt, if any interest group is even threatened with a loss of comfort, they can spend a few millions on lobbying, and their investment will be returned a hundred-fold or more, at public expense. Airlines, pension/healthcare benefits for retired workers of now-bankrupt steel companies, price-supports for farmers, etc. The list is literally endless. The plan is to wage war without pain. No body-bags, no belt-tightening. |
