The cost of war

Defense spending has opened a chasm in the nation’s growing debt. It is a hole that everyone in government is trying his or her best to ignore, but the deficit is not going anywhere anytime soon.

That is why Democratic Representative David Obey, D-Wisc., is trying to stir up the debate about how to pay for war by proposing a surtax to help finance our actions in the Middle East.

We say that attention can be paid to out-of-control defense spending without having to resort to unrealistic bill proposals.

The proposal of bills should be about the process of law-making, not trying to make a point to the American public.

Obey already admitted he doesn’t believe the bill will pass, but suggested it as a way to draw people’s attention to the cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

With no real intention (or prospect) of making this bill law, it was an unnecessary move on Obey’s part to draw it up. In a legislature that is already bogged down with bills and trying to push through large-scale reform, this is not the time to be drawing up bills simply to make a point.

Thankfully, Congressmen here in Indiana agree that this proposed legislation is a waste of time.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told Fox News on Sunday.

Despite Bayh’s reputation of constantly being concerned about debt, he doesn’t support the surtax.

“You need to provide for the nation’s security regardless of your financial situations, and there’s no bigger deficit hawk in Congress than I am,” Bayh said.

But he, along with other Indiana representatives, realized that the surtax was merely a political ploy to decrease support for Afghanistan.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., agreed. A war surtax “at a time of runaway federal spending is an insult to our troops and would only divide the country when public support for the war is more important than ever,” Pence asserted.

Sen. Richard Lugar, D-Ind., who admitted to CNN that “we’re going to have to have a serious talk about (the budget) and about the $1 trillion deficit we are in now and will continue to be in,” does not oppose raising taxes, but he does not support the method suggested by Obey.

By suggesting an unrealistic bill to help pay for the war, Obey is doing no one any good. Time would be better spent addressing the issue through less polarizing means than announcing a surtax.

If the White House wants to start the discussion about how to pay for the war, it should wage a healthy public relations campaign instead.