Tis The Poaching Season

[glatt]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I don't buy it.
1. How is anything were doing in Iraq helping the oil to flow?
2. Our international escapades seem to be completely disconnected from anything the populace, say, do or feel.

Iraq isn't helping the oil flow, but that's only because we are losing. We are there to build a democracy in the region so we can have power and influence in a region that has lots of oil.

Since we are tangled up in the Mid East and spending a lot of money there, we should look at why we are doing that, and why we have been doing it for decades. It's to keep the oil flowing. We need to be there. We depend on their oil. Sometimes our meddling works. Sometimes it doesn't. Right now it isn't working, but we are still spending that money there for that purpose. The money comes from your income taxes, and it comes from selling debt to foregin countries. That debt will be paid back by future generations, and will result in a drag on our economy. We will pay for Iraq, one way or another.

All of these costs are hidden from the populace. They won't realize in 5 or 10 years that the reason they are having trouble making ends meet is because they were driving SUVs in the 1990s. If that cost was upfront. And consumers could see what their choices actually meant, then I think many consumers would make different choices.

The Iraq war is costing $2 Billion each week. That works out to $7 a week per person in the US, or about $30 per household per week. That's $1,500 per year per household. All, presumably to keep our influence in the middle east strong so that the oil will keep flowing.

My car gets twice the gas mileage of some of the larger SUVs. If that cost was reflect at the pump instead of coming out of my income taxes and future earnings, then my portion of the cost would be smaller. I'd be paying only $1000 per year while the SUV owners would be facing $2000. With math like that, in your face, at the pump, I'm certain fewer people would buy SUVs.

Over time, with fewer SUVs, our oil dependency would be reduced, and our need for meddling would be reduced. An added bonus would be that alternative fuels would have an easier job competing.

All it would take is for congress to impose a tax on gasoline to pay for any meddling in oil nations that it approves, instead of taking it from our income taxes.

Are you telling me if we didn't import oil we wouldn't be the world cop? I don't think that's remotely true.

I think our world cop role would be reduced dramatically. But I'm sure we would still be the world cop to some extent. I'm only suggesting that we have a gas tax to pay for our world cop role when it is in an oil region. Other areas should be paid for with income taxes.