Much abuse has been hurled at Halliburton and other well-connected contractors for overcharging and stealing from the people of Iraq and American taxpayers alike--and rightly so. But ... one of the biggest con jobs ever [is] the war itself. Through their representatives in Congress, arms dealers and energy companies have convinced us to waste our wealth on a war we no longer believe in.
The Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured, a coalition of business and consumer groups, doctors, hospitals and insurance companies recently calculated that they could provide free healthcare for half of America's 47 million uninsured people with less than one-tenth (1/10!) of what we're currently spending on Iraq.
Or government subsidies of first-home purchasers. A new GI Bill for college graduates could reward their hard work with a check for a cool $75,000 each, to be put toward a downpayment on a new house. That's over 25 percent of the price of an average home sale. Goodbye, housing slump!
The government is going to spend us into debt no matter what. If we're going to mortgage our children's future, shouldn't it be on something that makes their lives better?
[Excerpt of an Opinion column by Tedd Rall, Yahoo News]
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