As for my last piece, I violated my principle rule that a journalist should never interject themselves into any story or debate and for that I do apologize to all of my readers. As one respondent stated to me in an email, “Keep plugging away” and I shall.
With that said, President Barack Obama convened an economic summit where he stated the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will be figured into what we the tax payer are actually paying for. Well, it is about time that Americans see what these wars are costing us, not only in blood, but in treasure. For it seems that treasure is the most important item some focus in on.
Even for the most conservative of Americans, ask yourselves this primary question: have the loss of military lives even come up on your radar? But, let the dollar signs flash before your very eyes, it does grab your attention. All of a sudden you wish to become stewards of the people’s money? Well it is about damn time.
I truly hate to sound partisan at this time, but these times are a cancer inflicted upon us all and it is about time you got your head in the game so to speak. Those who work against this effort are withholding the very treatments we need as a nation and I am literally praying that Americans demand the chemotherapy needed to cure it. Just look at the nation as it dies one state at a time. This cancer has surely metastasized. It has invaded every organ one can think of.
While trying to be hopeful here, one can hear the last gasps before a cancer patient dies.
Many writers like myself have sent up the flare of how much this War in Iraq is costing by the second and counting. More importantly what we could be using that money for to better our society as a whole and that does not include Afghanistan.
I think as Americans begin to see these expenditures on Recovery.gov, included in it must be our aid to Israel. While only a fraction of what is about to flow into our economy, still it is OUR hard earned money coming from we the tax payers. Our fiscal aid to Israel lies at the heart of the unstable nature within the Middle East. Just ask any expert like Scott Ritter or better yet, former President Jimmy Carter.
As I was reading a CNN article, I read where we will pay in fiscal year 2009, $2.55 billion. That is NOT chump change especially when states are suffering roughly the same budget deficit. I think as citizens of those states, we must demand of our federal government that until we get our own fiscal house in order, no such funds should go to the State of Israel.
I found this particularly interesting, "74 percent - about $2 billion a year - stays in the United States to finance Israeli purchases of U.S.-made products, ranging from fighter jets and helicopters to bullets and missiles, spare tank parts and fuel to bulldozers and more"
How about we use that money to fund more infrastructure projects right here in the United States? Is this simplistic thinking? Let us put those within those industries to work on the betterment for Americans. Let us think of new technology that comes off of the production of fighter jets, missiles and bullets to create an economy that is better for the American people instead of Israel. A transformative economy.
As CNN reported a "report by economists at the University of Massachusetts equated 8,555 jobs for each $1 billion invested in the military - with average wages and benefits of nearly $66,000." Can't we somehow retool these jobs to make other items that will equate jobs most productive to our society?
As lobbyists have become the villains in this new economy with their influence peddling, please pay particular notice to this item, "By this formula, U.S. military aid to Israel supports roughly 20,000 jobs directly (in line with an estimate by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby) and untold thousands more at suppliers and businesses in related fields." Enough of AIPACs rule over our government. Our economy cannot sustain their influence over our elected officials and any jobs that promote their country must come second over our economy.
I truly hope that in this age of transparency and how our tax dollars are being spent, are expenditures such as aid to Israel. While the expenditures paid out to aid the State of Israel are only but a fraction of what will flow into our economy, by putting that money into our own economy, it has all the possibility of multiplying. But we must have the willingness to do so and for once tell the State of Israel, NO.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
This column is copywrited by the author. Should you wish to use any portion of it, please contact the author for permission.
