Democrats Propose Tax Surcharge for War
Three senior House Democrats proposed an income tax surcharge Tuesday to finance the approximately $150 billion annual cost of operations in Iraq, saying it is unfair to pass the cost of the war on to future generations.
The plan, unveiled by Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would require low- and middle-income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill. Wealthier people would add a 12 to 15 percent surcharge, Obey said.
The plan’s sponsors acknowledged the tax measure is unlikely to pass, and admitted they lacked support from top Democrats, a fact immediately reinforced by the No. 2 Democrat in the House.
We had a different mindset in 1943, during the World War for our survival.
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I understand the point and I agree with it, not only in terms of sacrifice but in making the American people feel some sense of pain about the war. But this will not have the result they desire, I fear.
This is a huge strategic blunder. It will NEVER pass and it only serves to give Republicans fuel for another distraction.
Oh I don’t agree with the proposal, just pointing out the difference in attitudes.
To be fair, that was a REAL war, as opposed to a profiteering exercise by Bush and his corporate bakcers.
It would take a lot of convincing to get me to sacrifice my taxes (more than we have with our half-trillion dollars) so that Haliburton and Blackwater can make even more money.
The big tax cut for the rich that Bush & Greenspan and the other pigs voted for at a time of war was traitorous. They passed the cost of the war on to the as yet unborn, so they can buy their yacht or 2 or 3. It’s sickening if you ask me.
In 1943, war profiteering was also illegal.