Supporting the Troops

There has been a lot of talk about how or how one does not "support the troops" recently. Voting against Pres. Bush's "surge" means you do not "support the troops" according to a few misguided individuals.

But can we all agree that plastering a "Support the Troops" magnetic sticker on your car isn't really doing all that much other than making the car's owner feel good?

There is a good guest Editorial in todays NYT by Kristin Henderson. Ms. Henderson hits the nail on the head.

Though some claim that all Americans are making sacrifices for the war on terrorism, it’s just not true. The few who are sent to fight and those left behind who are an intimate part of their daily lives are the ones whose mental health, finances and relationships are taking the hit.

We are paying for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan using borrowed money. No one is sacrificing financially - we're leaving that to our children.

Ms. Henderson suggests a war tax. That's the way previous wars have been funded. This year we are getting a tax rebate for money that was collected via a phone tax. That tax was to raise money to support the Spanish-American War. Maybe that tax should not be repealed and the money used to pay current war expenses. Better yet, a tax that hits everyone personally in their pocketbook might be better. Let's see how anxious we are to start a "preventative war" when the money comes out of our paychecks every week.

If a phone tax were reinstated, or a tax on oil or clothing — something we use in proportion to our income — then all Americans would wind up shouldering at least a small portion of the burden of our nation’s wars. Military families would be exempt.

But we can't have a war tax because that would mean some political party or politician wouldn't get elected. Why do we continue to elect such cowards?

While I'm at it, let me reiterate that I think it would be best if all wars were fought only by individuals over the age of 55.