US House Speaker Pelosi opposes possible 'war tax'

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday she opposes a possible "war tax" to fund an escalation of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey has suggested such a tax, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her weekly news conference, "I am not in support of the proposal."

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/WBT013367.htm

[yurbud]

1. what an idiot--a war tax on the wealthy would probably end the war faster than defunding it

[closeupready]

4. She's worth $25 million.

That's your answer.

[Auggie]

2. They're really covering themselves for 2012

[Vincardog]

3. Why not insist that any war be revenue neutral? IF it is good enough for HCR why not WAR?

[Q3JR4]

9. Because war is, like, you know, different.

We can pay through the nose to kill people because it makes 1% of the population wealthy. If you wanted to tax the same 1% of the population to provide health care for everyone else, why, that would be un-christian!

Q3JR4.

[24601]

20. Why not pass a law saying anybody attacking the US has to fund

our response? After all, they're just terrorists, not criminals - they will obey the law n'est pas?

[kestrel91316]

5. I support the war paying for itself via a windfall profits tax on all

gains by the military-industrial complex.

Everybody has to pay their own way. You want war, you profit from war, YOU PAY FOR WAR.

[debbierlus]

6. I support not having the war

[kestrel91316]

7. So do I. But we already seem to HAVE a war, and it looks like it may be with us

a while longer, so I say apply free market principles to it. Otherwise it's just another socialist entitlement program.

:evilgrin:

[Oregone]

11. Ok....So, The US Government pays the MIC, who pay employers/execs, then the US taxes profits.....

Um...you think thats going to pay for the war?


Really? You think so?


That money originally came from the US coffers. There is a net loss each time a MIC payout is made. Think about it.

[Rozlee]

17. Good point.

I love the way conservatives used to gripe, and still do, about people on food stamps and welfare by saying that there is "no such thing as a free lunch." Well, they do seem to think that there is such a thing as a free war. How amusing--or not--that they think the budget fairy will wave her wand and automatically have the one million dollars a year that it costs for each soldier in the war. And the hundreds of billions of dollars for the costs of all the M4s, tanks, bullets, copters, terrain vehicles, construction equipment, etc., that it takes to cover all the expenses of two incredibly expensive wars.

[Solly Mack]

8. There has been some truly magical thinking over the last decade

A nation invades 2 countries and not once makes a single adjustment to the economy or the way business operates to compensate for expensive and protracted wars. We got tax breaks for the wealthy, shop til you drop, a corrupt & scandal riddled financial system that we had to bail out, and jobs that went away. We got defense money that we are supposed to believe just disappeared and the Pentagon has no idea where it went. We got corrupt defense contractors over-billing and fake billing - and there appears to be no recourse for recouping that money.

Yet, somehow, it's all supposed to work itself out.

Oh, America does have a war economy - but that just translates into cutting needed services & monies for the whole to increase the profits of the few.

I'm not saying a "war tax" is the answer, but I am saying there has been a complete break with reality in thinking a nation can pay for 2 protracted wars without those wars chipping away at our very infrastructure.

[Oregone]

10. The US needs a war tax and conscription to aid war presidents

[taught_me_patience]

12. We will have a war tax whether she likes it or not

The damn war will drive up the deficit,which will drive up inflation. Inflation is the cruelest of all taxes.

[closeupready]

14. It will devalue the meager assets of her poor domestics as quickly as it devalues her own $25 millio

so therefore, she will always end up at the top of the pecking order, so why should she give a shit about inflation? Hell, she probably has financial advisers who know how to profit from inflation, so I'm sure she ain't worried about that.

[fascisthunter]

13. so she doesn't want EVERYONE to pay for it

fuck her.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

15. we usually borrow the war money from the Chinese don't we?

[chill_wind]

16. Well THAT discussions's off the table. Back to politics as usual.

eom

[mitchum]

18. She is wretched

[EFerrari]

19. Wasn't she just hawking it a couple of weeks ago?

[24601]

21. Yeah, before she saw the polls and figured out what would

happen in the 2010 elections.

[KakistocracyHater]

22. it certainly gives perspective to TCM's programming & all those 40s films

kill the war