Bush Administration to Americans: Don't Be Poor, Or Else

Bob Burnett analyzes the real cost, to American taxpayers, of the Iraqi invasion. Snippets:

"The Bush Administration would have us believe that $100 billion in the first year, and $286 billion over five years, is a small price to pay for the liberation of Iraq, and an indeterminate modicum of safety from terrorism. But, even for those of us jaded by annual budget deficits in the $300 billion range, these are big numbers."

"The total cost of the war amounts to, in effect, an extra year of budget deficits - the 2003 deficit is expected to be $304 billion, and the shortfalls for 2004 and 2005 are projected as $307 and $208 billion respectively. $286 billion will raise the five-year cumulative deficit to approximately $1.5 trillion – a 26% increase. This is a huge debt, one that will inevitably worsen the living conditions for the average U.S. citizen. This deterioration will have two faces. The first is an increase in interest rates. The United States is a debtor nation – dependent upon outsiders to support our economy. The ugly reality is that we consume more than we produce and this means that we are highly dependent upon the largesse of overseas investors. As our national debt increases, our creditors will not be as willing to finance our debt by investing in our securities and, instead, will begin to eye competitive investments such as Euro bonds. This change will inevitably cause the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates – in an effort to make our bonds more attractive. This action will further stifle the economy by making it more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money. The second ugly face of our growing national debt will be to provide the Bush administration – compassionate conservatism and all – with a justification for a decrease in the amount of Federal expenditures on social programs such as education and health."

"Reduction of entitlement programs was one of the planks in Bush's platform for campaign 2000. As the Federal debt increases, progressively larger amounts of the Federal budget will have to be devoted to interest payments, which will rise to more than $40 billion annually by 2008. Republicans will seize on this as an excuse to reduce Federal spending. But, of course, they won't cut the military – which already amounts to half the discretionary spending – they will cut the programs that serve the neediest among us."