NEWS: Democrats Finally Have A Good Idea For The Iraq Occupation

POLITICS: Democrats Finally Have A Good Idea For The Iraq Occupation

The Democrats have finally come up with a good idea for the occupation: A war tax. Yeah, you heard me, you libertarian bitches. I said a war tax. Because right now we can’t afford this occupation and our debt is so out of control that we look insane. I believe you should pay for things as you go, so we may as well suffer a little for our beloved occupation.

And they are right. Representatives David Obey, John Murtha and Jim McGovern want low and middle income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill and rich fuckers like me would add a 12 to 15 percent. Or we could just keep acting like this war is not destroying our future and continue to not make any sacrifices here at home.

Can’t argue with that.

But the three lawmakers don’t think the tax will pass, because Democrats don’t want to be known as the party that raises taxes. Republicans would, of course, hammer the point home, even though Republican Presidents seem to be retarded when it comes to the economy. Also, the Republican Congress was throwing money around the past six years like they were on a NAMBLA tour in Bangkok.

Democrats are attempting to drive home the fact that the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan will cost $190 billion. At the same time Bush is crying like a cunt about Democratic domestic budget increases that total $23 billion. He has threatened a veto of the domestic spending bills.

Obey explained his position.

The tax would be similar to policies that were put in place to pay for the Vietnam War and World War II, back when Republicans actually had smart economic plans. The Republicans have been preaching economic responsibility while taking our country into the shitter, so now is their chance to step up and do what is right.

Too bad the Democrats are also too big of pussies to do what is right. But, hey, it’s a fun idea!

That would make sense if most of us wanted troops in Iraq at this point. However, we do not. Unfortunately our representatives do not care what citizens want. They do not represent us. Democrat or Republican. They do not represent you. They do not represent me. They represent their party line.

Hey, "Freedom isn't free" [snort]...

If such a bill were to pass (I'm thinking it wouldn't), I'd look at it as a way for those of us opposed to the war to actually stick our necks out and take a stand as 'tax resisters': It's not our war, we didn't vote for it, we refuse to pay for it. Of course, that wouldn't happen, because, as you have astutely observed, we live in a nation of lazy complainers.

You nailed it.

It would be nice to see the republicans try to cover the cost on their own. They could actually get away with it more easily. Just say it's to protect the homeland or whatever it is they're saying now-a-days and it'd go down a lot smoother to their voters. But the democrats? No, they'd be torn apart by the opposition because the opposition knows they're unable to fight back (which is pretty much their own fault.)

Democrats AREN'T known to raise taxes? Since when?

2% increase on most of us...we're talking under a hundred dollars for lots of people. The only people who would really feel this are the rich people. While we may not want to continue to be in Iraq, at this point if we pull out all we're going to do is make the people who we have won over hate us as we leave them to fend for themselves. The people who don't want us there are going to hate us even if we leave for being there in the first place.
I'd rather rich old people pay for this now than me pay for it when I'm a rich old person.

I just felt this bore repetition.

As sad as it is, some people in this country might actually stand up and take more notice and demand more accountability from the government once they reach their hands into our pocketbooks to pay for this war.

That's exactly the point. If people have to pay for the war, it will serve to end the artificial lowering of the perceived cost of the war for Americans.

I think that taxes specifically for military operations is a great thing as a libertarian, because it's a sectioned off part of the budget that people realize is an actual cost, and thus efforts can be made to reduce that specific part of the budget. Or alternatively, we can start charging other nations who free-ride off of our world police force.

Edit: It would be awesome if they provided an itemized breakdown of government expenditures on your withholding form.

Also, other libertarians have suggested eliminating witholding so that the American people feel the weight of taxes when they have to shell out 30-50 percent of their income at once

Agreed.

They could save a lot of money if they threw money around like they were on a NAMBLA tour in Phnom Penh instead. The U.S. dollar goes farther there.

Since we are clearly not leaving this war anytime soon, and I will probably have to go back to it several times more, I think we should be taxing the damn Iraqi Government. This is an occupation after all.

As for additional taxes for the American people, this will probably happen. No big shock or surprise with that. I just hope that should the tax increase happen, they actully spend the money on what they claim it is for.

Aren't they the evil kind of dictators there, though? We'd only want our tax dollars going to the good kind, after all. And to Erik Prince, of course.

What a magnificent idea - now I'll just go kick in somone's door, kill some of the house's inhabitants, torture others, hold them all prisoner while I wreck the house, and charge them for the service!

Fucking brilliant.

I dig the war tax idea too.

As an oddly related point, I got back $30 in a tax rebate for 2006 from a now defunct Telegram Tax, put in place to help finance the Spanish/American war. Apparently it had been quietly riding on the books for a hundred years or so until someone found it in 2005 and repealed the taxation.

I hope if we do have an Iraq tax, they remember to repeal it in a reasonable period, so we don't go on building a war chest and future generations wind up paying anyways because the warpigs just couldn't stop suckling the mugwum.

I'm not sure if this is funnier than a NAMBLA tour in Bangkok or just a lot more disturbing.

I took the liberty of correcting your spelling.

I get what mugwum is representing, but is it a real word or what? I'm very confused with this. It may be a word I want to introduce into my vocabulary.

Who actually believes that this "War Tax" would ever actually go away if it were enacted in the first place?

Increase taxes for the defense industry!

Because they clearly wanted us to occupy them.

[TANGENT] The word "Mugwump" was originally derived from the Algonquin word for "chief," and it was used in American politics to refer to a faction of the Republican Party in the 1880's that rejected their own leadership as corrupt and therefore tended to support Democrats.

The sense that King_Mob is using it in, however, is from William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch, where the word refers to a species of large reptile that secretes an addictive drug (mugwump jism) from its penis. [/TANGENT]

Americans today are acting like spoiled children. We wanted, as a nation, to invade Iraq, so we went at it hammer and tongs. Now we realize that Iraq is a nasty place to rest our feet, and we want to get the hell out, consequences be damned. It's like geopolitical hedonism. Well, just because 'most citizens' want out now doesn't change the fact that a few years ago 'most citizens' made a shortsighted decision which, now, all citizens have to buck up and deal with.

(p.s. this comes across a bit more aggressive towards you than you deserve. a bit).

+2. That is awesome.

Americans today are acting like spoiled children. We wanted, as a nation, to invade Iraq, so we went at it hammer and tongs. Now we realize that Iraq is a nasty place to rest our feet, and we want to get the hell out, consequences be damned. It's like geopolitical hedonism. Well, just because 'most citizens' want out now doesn't change the fact that a few years ago 'most citizens' made a shortsighted decision which, now, all citizens have to buck up and deal with. QUOTE]

I think this further illustrates the point. What of the "minority" that never voted for Bush (much less twice!) and never supported an invasion of Afghanistan/Iraq?

I agree that we now have no choice but to deal with the consequences, however with an ignorant/misinformed majority ruling, I know more of the same is just around the bend.

money that could be used to expand education, jobs, energy problems, and build communities... I call shenanigans. when has this ever happened? Education programs weren't actully tip top before the war. Build stronger communities.. is that like fences and stuff?

when has our government said "oh hey, lets educate the people, help them lead healthy lives, and get those poor destitute citizens of ours that live in their own filth off the street and back in to productive society!" I assume this would be followed by a high five.

Um, *cough*, gee, *ahem*, I've never heard of anything like that.

Yeah, because we all know how well taxation without representation goes over. If this were to happen, with all the caveats necessary to give said taxation a veneer of an attempt at legality, I will personally ship the Iraqi resistance a barrel of tea to symbolically dump in the Persian Gulf.