The Biggest Government Bailout Of All

"Giving $17 billion to General Motors and Chrysler is a waste of money," said Janet in disgust. "Even their shareholders won't put money in and the firms have no plan and the same bad management."

"Yes, but it will stop them from going bankrupt," replied Tom, "while Barack Obama starts his stimulus plan which could save them. And besides, AIG got almost 10 times as much money and what great plan do they have?"

As this hypothetical conversation illustrates, Americans are heatedly debating the massive $750 billion taxpayer funded corporate bailout, yet in silence there is a far larger corporate bailout taking place.

This silent bailout will soon top ONE TRILLION DOLLARS and it is rapidly growing as every day it devours more money. It is now one of the largest public works projects in U.S. history. What is it? The Iraq war.

By making relatively small campaign contributions, the merchants of death receive the public's money and profit immensely from it. They often don't even compete as contracts are sole sourced to them.

So what has our TRILLION DOLLARS bought us? It was used in the killing of over one million Iraqis, well over 4,000 U.S. and allied soldiers and it has left Iraq in ruins, leaving the surviving Iraqis to struggle in a living hell.

Another 30,000 U.S. soldiers are severely injured and will require a lifetime of medical care at public expense, and tens of thousands more soldiers are traumatized by what they've seen and participated in. May God help the Iraqi children cope with what they've seen and sadly been the victims of.

But these are the choices the U.S. government made and continues to make.

Alternatively, America could have used this money to secure Social Security or Medicare and Medicaid, or its educational system or sheltered the homeless, or used it for any number of other worthy causes.

Instead, the money is gone, unaccounted for as no one watched over it. But we can easily measure how it was used by looking at Iraq when the Pentagon doesn't censor the pictures and listening to the Iraqis or seeing what remains of their healthcare and educational systems when the Pentagon allows us to.

This is bad but it gets worse. Because America didn't have the money to fight this war, it was borrowed and more continues to be borrowed and will have to be paid back with interest for many years to come.

If you are offended by this biggest of government bailouts and/or if you are outraged by the taking of the lives of innocent men, women and children, all done in your name as an American, then speak up!

What you think is important. Our brethren are being killed and maimed. Raise your voice to stop this war before more lives are wasted, before more of your money is spent. Your conscience will thank you.

So will numerous greatful senior citizens, if in the future the U.S. still has Social Security and Medicare worth anything, for you will have helped to do something wonderful for them and for all of mankind.

Dick

Note: The idea of an Iraq corporate bailout connection came from a young man in a video rental store.