Welfare for War

One night I was wondering "When did We" -- and by We, I mean We the people of the United States of America, not We Democrats or We Republicans -- "When did We start believing We should be able to wage war -- against anyone, anywhere, any time -- without paying for it?" Then it suddenly hit me so hard I had to slap my forehead, which hurt.

"Aha!" I said. "We've always been opposed to paying for the wars We wage -- even as far back as when the word We referred to a bunch of rag-tag British colonists."

In 1754, to protect interests of Virginia businessmen who had invested in fur trading, We started the French and Indian War. Then, initiating a tradition that has endured, We refused to pay the taxes imposed to pay for the war. That, in turn, led to revolution against Great Britain. Here's how it unfolded:

In 1753 the French built some forts in Ohio country, which belonged to various tribes of the Iroquois Confederation -- not England, not France, and not the colonies. The British Governor of Virginia sent Major George Washington to Ohio country to demand withdrawal of French troops. The French refused, so on May 28, 1754, Washington attacked the French at Fort Duquesne, which was located at present-day Pittsburgh. Thus started a war that would spread to Europe and last until 1763.

Most people know the rest of this history. To pay for the war, British Parliament established the Stamp Act of 1765. The colonists didn't like it. Parliament, at the urging of Benjamin Franklin, repealed the act, but soon replaced it with several Townshend acts. One of these is better known as the Tea Act. The colonists liked this even less and dumped three shiploads of tea into Boston Harbor rather than allow it to be offloaded and taxed. The Brits responded by closing off Boston's commerce. We -- the new We, the rebellious colonists We -- responded by convening the First Continental Congress, starting the revolutionary war, and issuing the Declaration of Independence.

Now don't get me wrong, I love our country. I think our constitution is amazing and was the beginning of a truly extraordinary and wonderful change in the course of human experience. Nevertheless, when you delete the rhetoric and examine root causes, We revolted against Great Britain to avoid paying for a war fought, initially, to protect the investments of a few business people.

We refused to pay for the French and Indian War; We were unable to pay for the Revolutionary War. We accepted -- begged for -- financial support from France, who provided 90% of our gunpowder. Thank you again, Ben Franklin. France also sent troops. The French troops who fought at the Battle of Yorktown, the decisive battle, numbered nearly as many as the Americans. Our revolutionary war so depleted France's treasury that King Louis XVI levied greater and greater taxes on his people. Of course, that led to their revolution.

Now let's get back to the 21st century. We are fighting two wars -- Iraq and Afghanistan. We were running ridiculous deficits long before sub-prime loans eroded bank capital and plunged our economy into the tank. Yet we want tax breaks! Worse, the people who get the biggest tax breaks are the same people benefiting most from the two wars. And We the people have been doing this for 250 years.

When will we stop giving welfare to the military industrial complex?

P.S. Please post a comment. Click on the link below that shows '(a number of) comments'.

P.P.S. Please, please, please watch for my next blog post. I'll be inviting all of you to participate in a discussion, via the comments section, about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 'War on Terror', and our country's current direction -- which, with regard to war, seems to be the same under Obama as it was under Bush.