Stimulus And Iraq: A Matter Of Equity

The government is sending out a one-time $130 billion gift to American taxpayers in hopes this will reanimate the U.S. economy. It’s a nice gesture but not an especially fair one. Washington should be gifting us to the tune of $150 billion a month. Every month.

Consider. We’re spending $12 billion a month supporting Iraq and its people. That country’s population being 24 million (we’ll overlook the millions who have fled since we arrived), that comes out to $1 billion a month for every 2 million Iraqis. There are 300 million Americans. So a comparable monthly donation made to us would total $150 billion.

I’m not suggesting that our government should support its own people at a more generous level than we now support the people of Iraq. Heaven forbid. But as a simple matter of equity, might we not at least get an equal per capita dollop of Washington’s largess?

Cartoon by Mike Keefe, The Denver Post