Don't raise taxes for health care!

[LuckyTheDog]

There is no need to raise taxes to pay for health care. Period. Instead, we should raise taxes to pay for the current and accumulated costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Once we do that, that should free up plenty of money for at least a decade of universal health care -- without the need to raise taxes for that purpose.

Who's with me on this?

[LuckyTheDog]

1. Really? Nobody agrees?

These are our first wars bought entirely on credit. If we had not started them -- or if we had paid for them honestly -- the deficit would not be anywhere near where it is. And, we'd have the money to do health care reform.

So, why not attack the fiscal disaster at its source by seeking to cover the costs of those wars?

[Naturyl]

2. You can't raise taxes for war.

Raising taxes for war would create the impression that war has a cost, which would in turn make it more difficult to sell future wars.

Taxes can only be raised for social programs. War is to be presented as cost-free.

[LuckyTheDog]

3. War used to involve sacrifice

But maybe I am being to nostalgic.

[timeforpeace]

4. How about just ending the wars? You like war for some reason?

[LuckyTheDog]

5. That comment makes no sense

The fact that I want to raise taxes to pay for war costs we have incurred and will incur does not mean I like the wars. Where would you get a silly idea like that?

Let me walk you through this. Those wars have wrecked our federal budget. They have dramatically boosted the deficit. Because of that deficit, the Republicans now get away with trying to say that we can't "afford" health care reform. And the Democrats -- because they don't want an even bigger deficit -- are forced into asking for tax increases on the wealthy to pay for health care reform. Are you with me so far?

OK. Now, consider that we have already spent about $1 trillion on those wars and will, no doubt, spend many billions more. (Even if we adopted a speedy exit strategy, we'd be on the hook for massive future costs.) That leaves a gaping hole in the federal budget that has to be filled if we are to pay for things like universal health care.

The question is: How do we fill that hole. We could make universal into a "deficit neutral" proposition by raising taxes to pay for that. OR, we could attack the budget problem at its source by passing a war tax, and using the proceeds to refill federal coffers.

Once re-filled, those coffers could be tapped to pay for... well, gee.. maybe something like, you know... universal health coverage.

Just a thought.