When will Bush ask us to pay for the Iraq war? ?

Question

So far it has been borrowed by selling Treasury Bonds - mostly to Communist China.

China now owns about one Trillion dollars worth.

Answer 1

we already do. It is called taxes

Answer 2

i thouth that triple gas prices coverd that oh c**p there is still more these b******s want from me

Answer 3

2010, be  prepared for the men who spent it to howl when the Dems have to pay their bills by raising your taxes.

Wasn't that clever on their part to make payday after they left ?

Answer 4

Easily paid by stop spending $480 Billion a year in foregin aide and stop funding the World Food Bank at $352 Billion! Piece of cake dude!

Answer 5

Taxpayers are already paying. The president asks for it, the congress approves it and our taxes pay for it along with millions of other items.

Answer 6

your question has a subtle fallacy embedded in it: the false premise that everything the government buys must be paid for right now with tax receipts or spending cuts, or else we shouldn't do it.  

It's a bad idea, but one that's easy to accept—because so many others of us are accepting the idea without objection ("social proof")

Let's illustrate further.  Here's the question in more specific terms using several situations from the past:

1. How did we "pay for" the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, without which we wouldn't be the United States of America today?

2. How did we "pay for" winning WW2, then rebuilding Europe?

3. How did we "pay for" the GI Bill, the last and arguably most successful New Deal program, still educating our GIs?

4. How did we "pay for" winning the Cold War, a victory that arguably prevented WW3?  

5. How did we "pay for" beefing up security at all of our overseas embassies, to prevent their destruction from terrorist attacks?

6. How did we "pay for" the necessary intelligence, diplomacy, and military capabilities to prevent the 9-11 attacks (and thereby the subsequent wars)?  

Here's the way I would answer those six how'd-we-pay-for-it questions:

1. We borrowed money from foreigners for the Louisiana Territory, and subsequently serviced that debt via generations of economic-growth-driven tax receipts.

2. We borrowed money from ourselves to win WW2 and rebuild Europe, and subsequently serviced the debt via generations of economic-growth-driven tax receipts.

3. We borrowed money from ourselves to send returning GIs to college, and subsequently serviced the debt via generations of economic-growth-driven tax receipts.

4. We borrowed money from ourselves and foreigners to prevent WW3, and subsequently serviced the debt via generations of economic-growth-driven tax receipts.

5. Uh, we didn't beef up all of them.  It's too bad that our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were subsequently blown up by terrorist bombs, but at least we didn't have to borrow any money, or dent the surplus that so pleased both political parties.  

6. Uh, we didn't invest in the necessary intelligence, diplomacy, or military capabilities in the '90s; instead, we trimmed those costs down to a much smaller portion of the budget.  It's too bad 9-11 wasn't prevented, but at least we didn't have to borrow any money, or dent the surplus that so pleased both political parties.  

The point: Not everything needs to be "pay-go" because some things are good investments in the future—one of the best of those being war prevention (according to John Stuart Mill).  Good investments eventually (by definition) pay for themselves, and then some.  Borrowing money for good investments is sound financial practice; ask any banker.  Statesmen of the past who stuck by their convictions against the odds (Jefferson, FDR, Reagan) knew that in their hearts.

Answer 7

YAAAAAAAAAAAAY BUSH, McCain'08!!!

Answer 8

We are already footing the bill. Every time we put gas in our vehicles, every time we write a check for our taxes and every time we make a purchase.

We have been paying for it all along and will continue to pay for it for a long, long time.