4-16-05, 11:30 am
Oh say can we see record federal deficits with no end in sight. What with big tax cuts for corporations and millionaires as Operation Iraqi Freedom continues, and energy-rich Iran menacing the American people, the time for fiscal prudence is now. Of course some war contractors might disagree with my modest proposal. I can hear their grumbling now from hot tubs in their gated communities. That is a terrible shame. But I expected such sour grapes from suits who cheer free enterprise as they milk the public treasury like a cow. So listen up, you grumpy CEOs of Bechtel, Halliburton and Lockheed Martin. Embrace the stock market as a source of Uncle Sam’s funds to buy your corporations’ advanced weaponry to spread liberty globally and increase Americans’ security. If returns on investment in the Pentagon private accounts are down one quarter, there is always the next quarter for Uncle Sam to purchase your unsold weapons systems. Patience.
There are other benefits of my fiscal proposal. Relying on the stock market to bankroll the Pentagon would diminish Uncle Sam’s reliance on foreign lenders. U.S. society wins when the stock market helps to cut the indebtedness of the federal government. Who can argue with that? Certainly not Team Bush and the privatizers with the Cato Institute. Together, they assure the public that the stock market will provide holders of Social Security private accounts high rates of return in the future. If that is so, the same investment principle holds true for Pentagon private ccounts.
The properly schooled know that Americans’ future living standards face a threat from the tax dollars needed to maintain U.S. military spending. If the well-being of the American people depends on the well-being of the Pentagon, its bloated budget must be reduced. How? Create private Pentagon accounts. Our future depends on it.
--Seth Sandronsky is a member of Sacramento Area Peace Action and a co-editor of Because People Matter, Sacramento’s progressive paper. He can be reached at: ssandron@hotmail.com.
