Opinion

Wage war or care for our citizens?

Posted March 12, 2010 10:00 pm

It is time to address the guns or butter issue. According to the federal government's own financial statement, the defense department costs $684 billion, or $7 trillion over 10 years. The cost of well-deserved veterans benefits would push the 10-year costs to over $10 trillion.

According to CBO projections, extending health care to 30 million additional people and standardizing minimum care will cost the government about $1 trillion over 10 years, or $100 billion a year.

Taking the $100 billion for health care from the DOD budget would still have us spending 4 percent of our GDP on defense, versus most other countries' 2 percent. The U.S. would still far outspend every other country on defense by any measure.

So, should we spend even greater amounts, borrowing from our children's futures, to finance the machines and means of war? Or, should we invest in the future health and happiness of our citizens, which would allow our ever-faithful veterans to come home and enjoy the peace and liberty they have fought for so valiantly? Do we want to wage war or care for our citizens?

Joe Sunderhaus

Glen Ellyn

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.