What To Do With All That Extra Iraq Money.
No, we’re not going to endorse a candidate here.
No, we’re not going to talk about what the next president should do in Iraq.
Yes, we’re going to get controversial.
For your consideration: What To Do With All That Extra Iraq Money.
Yes, we’re going to tackle what to do with the money we’d NOT spend in Iraq should an incoming president decide to pull troops out entirely.
Yesterday, one of our crew heard on WLS-AM that the US is paying the salaries of over 100,000 Iraqi government workers. Not, US workers in Iraq. We’re talking about the equivalent of a Congressperson in America, but in Iraq. Is this true?
If you read Harper’s Index, or Google search “Iraqi US spending,” you’ll find all sort of factoids about spending in Iraq. Have fun with that . . .
Many analysts think the US is approaching a total cost of 4 trillion bucks on this war. The Money Kings guess it’s a good thing that we’re not talking about what we COULD have done with all that cash in our own country! Maybe fund a maglev system across the states like they’ve had in Disney World for 30 years???!!! Maybe Disney Co. should run the country for a year? Hell, maybe all of the Fortune 500 should be given a rotational year advising the Congress and the President and the Supreme Court on how the country should efficiently manage its cash?
Regardless, we’re spending a lot on the war. If we leave Iraq, then we’ll have some excess cash lying around. What should we do with it?
- Fund education?
- Start another war?
- Replenish our military strength?
- Support small farmers?
- Create national health care?
- Fund immigration control?
- Fund NASA?
- Fund the star wars program?
- Create more grant programs for science and technology?
We like a few of these options . . .
We also acknowledge that innovation should remain as America’s gift to the world. We bring people here; we accept the world here; we work with them; we innovate and lead.
If we had ONE, just ONE, place to put the money the US will NOT spend due to an Iraq pull out, however, The Money Kings select funding/propping up/supporting/insuring/whatever-you-want-to-call-it Social Security.
Why Money King???!!!!!??!!!
For the following reasons:
- Middle classes in China, India and developing nations are coming. We know this. Social Security is the foundation of our middle class. The Money Kings say, “In order to compete in overall global stability, we need to make sure that our middle class doesn’t become inferior to that of a foreign nation.” This might sound nationalistic to some of you; our goal for you is to challenge us to think differently.
- You know it’s true! Many, dare we say the majority, of humanoids would describe themselves as “not good with math.” Maybe we should reward those with natural talent for this skill set, and then get honest with ourselves that math isn’t something that everyone is going to “get” or, heaven forbid, enjoy. If people aren’t good with math, then they’ll be bad with money. The two issues are not mutually exclusive. If people aren’t good with math, then you’ve gotta set up a system where they’ll get paid for putting upfront money (by law) into a system that pays them back with they’re old, tired, sick and possibly completely disoriented by a world that has passed them by in their old age.
- If we don’t fund Social Security, the return on our divestment will be increased poverty for people in their older ages. If we’re living longer, then The Money Kings say, “Extend the age to collect on SS benefits!” Don’t, however, turn more and more old people out with nothing ahead of them except death and poverty. How is this anything but senior neglect?
The Money Kings say, innovate and ALSO make sure we provide something for all the people that were too busy or just not mentally inclined to both work and innovate, and be all start investors as well.
Frankly, we don’t mind that a great comedian that entertains us can’t manage his or her money. They’re gift is entertainment. We’ll tax their income for it, and then make sure they have at least enough to feed themselves and use mass transit, if they wind up blowing all their money—or being scammed out of it by duplicitous investment advisers. Same situation for the grandparents and mentors that maybe didn’t have the greatest financial minds in the world, but took the time to show us how to sew, or cook for ourselves, provide good telephone customer service, or teach us about civic responsibility and little things like tending to vegetable gardens. Are we crazy to suggest that these people deserve a little hand up in their senior years?
Good luck out there, WHEN YOU’RE OLD.
Keywords: war, money, lots, old, people, social, security, math, numbers
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The money flowing into Iraq
The money flowing into Iraq is coming directly from debt issuances by the US Government. We have been running a budget deficit for several consecutive years now, and that's accumulated into several trillion $$ of national debt. It would be wise as a first measure to bring government spending in line with tax receipts, either by increasing receipts (raising taxes or collecting them more aggressively) or reducing spending.
After that, medical costs are the huge bogeyman on the short term horizon, with expected exhaustion of the Medicare Trust Fund by the year 2019 (paying out ~78% of promised benefits at that time). By contrast, Social Security is expected to remain solvent until 2041, when the SS Trust Fund expires and full promised benefits will no longer be provided (again, ~78% of promised benefits at that time).
What few are talking about is the accounting sleight of hand that occurred with these two trust funds. The government took in additional tax receipts for several years to pad the budgets for both SS and Medicare to account for the oncoming retirement of the Baby Boom generation. Then they borrowed against these two funds by replacing the money received with government-issued debt instruments which will require payment out of general revenue funds once the payroll tax receipts are insufficient to meet the costs of the systems.
More info from the folks running the programs:
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/index.html
Due to severe mismanagement of the government in this Administration, we will have to deal with several crisis-level policy issues that were ignored or actively damaged over the past 7+ years. This includes recapitalization and rebuilding of the military, rebuilding of our national infrastructure, our country's contributions to climate change, disarray of our financial system, mismanagement and politicization of several key government departments (DOJ, EPA, Interior, NASA, ...), huge foreign debt, massive structural budget deficits, spiraling health care costs, corporate malfeasance, corruption, and divisiveness of the body politic. Almost all are going to require money, and it doesn't look very pretty from where we're at right now.
Healthcare (including Medicare) seems to be the both the largest issue cost-wise, as well as the one that's most immediate in need. Should we run a budget surplus anytime in the near future, it seems like healthcare could use it the most.
seau
George W Bush
What never ceases to amaze me is who gets away with what. The US government is so huge and powerful and convoluted that no one person or agency will ever be charged with any wrongdoing when it comes to mismanaging not MILLIONS, not BILLIONS, no, to accurately describe the scale of this thing, we are talking about TRILLIONS of dollars. It is truly incomprehensible.
My real point though is that I'll bet anyone that there will be an interstate highway in some major city called the George W Bush Memorial Highway the SECOND W croaks.
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