Congressional Report Says Wars to Cost Twice as Much

A 21-page draft report called “"The Hidden Costs of the Iraq War" by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee says, “The full economic costs of the war to the American taxpayers and the overall US economy go well beyond even the immense federal budget costs already reported.” Rather than the $804 billion currently cited as the price tag, the JEC suggests the full economic cost is more like $1.5 trillion.

Some of this “hidden cost” is so much bull. The JEC includes things like a higher price for oil. “The war in Iraq is certainly not responsible for all of this increase,” according to a Washington Post article on the study, but it “likely raised oil prices in the US by between $4 and $5 a barrel.” The report did fudge this a little, “because of the many factors affecting oil markets, this should be seen as a highly approximate estimate.” Actually, if the oil industry in Iraq-Nam had been properly revived, oil would probably be lower than it is right now. However, how does one determine what the speculators’ premium is, what the risk premium of Iran closing the Straits of Hormuz, and how does one factor in the weather’s effect on heating costs? Part of the $1.5 trillion is vapor.

More reliably, there is the interest the US government has to pay to continue its policy of borrow and spend to fund the wars in Iraq-Nam and Afghanistan. The unwillingness of the administration to raise taxes in wartime is the height of fiscal irresponsibility. Having sold debt to China and other non-allies to make the Mess in Mesopotamia, the US government has undermined its own economic future.

Another pretty reliable figure is the $30 billion that it will cost to take care of the combat veterans who need everything from artificial limbs to psychiatric help. One of the saddest news items to hit the papers last week, right before Veterans’ Day, was the fact that one out of four homeless in America is a former soldier, sailor, airman or Marine. Such a high figure suggests a systemic problem with the way America treats those who fought in its wars. Maybe the $30 billion will just go away since America has a habit of not paying that particular bill in full.

Still, the people in Congress are playing politics with the war. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) issued a statement saying “What this report makes crystal clear is that the cost to our country in lives lost and dollars spent is tragically unacceptable.” Senator Schumer has yet offered no vision to end the horrendous cost. Meanwhile, Brian Hart who is a staffer for Senator Brownback’s (R-KS), the committee's senior Republican senator, said, “The Democrats didn’t bother to run this report by any of their Republican JEC colleagues or staff.” If true, they have been less than proper in handling this issue. If the $1.5 trillion figure is correct, each American family of 4 is out $20,000 on these wars, or $5,000 each – hardly value for money.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home