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If only the war hawks could dig up an extra trillion dollars, they could make their dreams a reality. I don't think there is public support (currently) for spe

If only the war hawks could dig up an extra trillion dollars, they could make their dreams a reality. I don't think there is public support (currently) for spending money on unnecessary wars. EDIT: With the sequester going on in DC, I think that there is more of a feeling that we can't print extra money to fund a new, unnecessary war.

criley 14y ago
Why on Earth would they dig up an extra trillion dollars? The war hawks and the Keynesian economists got together over a decade ago[1] and realized you can finance an entire war on debt. The Keynesians get a massive stimulus and the war hawks get their war. Conservatives (except for libertarians) won't speak up, and democrats (except for progressive liberals) won't speak out so long as the white house has a "(D)" in residence. And lets be honest, libertarians and prog. liberals are among the most ignored demographics in Washington. So, all in all, sounds like something Washington can get unify around to prove they can work together. War, it's a win for partisan politics! [1] In all honesty, the realization that you could blow up the budget and call it stimulus happened longer than a decade ago, I'm just being pithy and referring to the fact that Iraq/Afghanistan were kept off of the official books for years and years and obviously completely unfunded except by debt-financed deficit spending.
- apendleton 14y ago
  What makes you think this is a recent realization? World War II was financed in large measure with war bonds, which are also just debt.
iguana 14y ago
The total cost of wars since 2001 is estimated at $1.5T [1] which is printed through quantitative easing every 1.5 years as of December 2012 [2]. 1 - http://costofwar.com/ http://costofwar.com/ 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing#QE1.2C_QE2.2C_and_QE3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing#QE1.2C_QE2.... edit: formatting

criley 14y ago

Why on Earth would they dig up an extra trillion dollars? The war hawks and the Keynesian economists got together over a decade ago[1] and realized you can finance an entire war on debt. The Keynesians get a massive stimulus and the war hawks get their war. Conservatives (except for libertarians) won't speak up, and democrats (except for progressive liberals) won't speak out so long as the white house has a "(D)" in residence. And lets be honest, libertarians and prog. liberals are among the most ignored demographics in Washington. So, all in all, sounds like something Washington can get unify around to prove they can work together. War, it's a win for partisan politics! [1] In all honesty, the realization that you could blow up the budget and call it stimulus happened longer than a decade ago, I'm just being pithy and referring to the fact that Iraq/Afghanistan were kept off of the official books for years and years and obviously completely unfunded except by debt-financed deficit spending.

apendleton 14y ago
What makes you think this is a recent realization? World War II was financed in large measure with war bonds, which are also just debt.

iguana 14y ago

The total cost of wars since 2001 is estimated at $1.5T [1] which is printed through quantitative easing every 1.5 years as of December 2012 [2]. 1 - http://costofwar.com/ http://costofwar.com/ 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing#QE1.2C_QE2.2C_and_QE3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing#QE1.2C_QE2.... edit: formatting