Keep tax dollars out of war zones



First published in print: Thursday, July 30, 2009

Most Americans are unaware of how much of their tax dollars have gone to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last eight years.


Congress recently appropriated another $84.8 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the remainder of the 2009 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, bringing total war-related spending for Iraq to $687 billion and for Afghanistan to $228 billion, with a total war cost of $915.1 billion.

To put these figures into perspective, the National Priorities Project, a nonprofit research organization, calculated spending per congressional district, and looked at what the money would have bought in the form of domestic services. Here's how the Capital Region looks:

Congressional District 20: The district's share comes to $2.8 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided (nationally): 965,992 children with health care for one year or 5.2 million homes with renewable electricity for one year.

Congressional District 21: The district's share of $2.5 billion could have provided 286,188 Head Start places for children for a year, or 48,480 public safety officers for a year.

I am alarmed and disappointed by the lost services because of war funding. The continued funneling of billions of taxpayer dollars into war is unacceptable and wrong, especially when the Capital Region and other communities across the U.S. are suffering the effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Our national security and opportunities for a lasting global peace are strengthened and achieved when direct international support enables populations (especially the women and children) to become socially, economically and politically empowered to end tyranny, corruption and violence.

Brian Trautman

Rensselaer