Tasini: A vote for war is a vote for higher taxes (Thanks, Hillary!)

[BurtWorm]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-tasini/hillary-thanks-for-raisi_b_27844.html

Jonathan Tasini
Hillary, Thanks For Raising Our Taxes

Here’s something Hillary Clinton and other pro-war Democrats won’t tell Democratic voters: by voting for the war, pro-war Democrats have imposed higher taxes or cuts in social programs on every American for years to come.

That painful point is underscored in my economic plan, which I’m releasing today. A New Deal For New Yorkers (catchy title, huh?) points out these facts: The Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates the conservative cost of the war and occupation at more than $1 trillion—assuming there are no U.S. troops in Iraq after 2010.

If troops stay in Iraq as long as 2015—a reasonable scenario given the current situation—the cost could potentially reach as high as $2 trillion. By supporting the war and occupation, Hillary Clinton has saddled every New Yorker with higher taxes and a lower standard of living.

Here are just a few examples of the costs of the war/occupation:

• $300 billion for direct war-fighting costs—money we won’t have to pay for housing, health-care and to bolster Medicare.

• $200 billion for disability payments to our men and women in uniform and to care for the thousands of horribly wounded military personnel, many of who will require life-long treatment for amputations and injuries to the brain, spine, mind and other severe injuries.

• $380 billion added interest on the national debt—our country had to borrow money to finance the war.

• Pushed up the price of oil which has meant higher gasoline prices for average Americans. The war and occupation may add a minimum of $5-$10 per barrel to the price of oil—a cost of as much as $300 billion over the next five years. That comes right out of the pockets of average Americans.

• Lost economic value of $750 billion because monetary costs of the war/occupation do not add to national income in the way public investments do.

The war cost us jobs and hurt our economy because the increased defense spending has to be financed by either higher taxes or increased borrowing. If our country raises taxes, the increased defense spending reduces the after-tax wages of workers. If we have to borrow to cover the defense spending, then, eventually, the increased borrowing will lead to higher interest rates—and, of course, that will reduce investment, cost jobs and, then, push taxes higher because we will have to pay off the higher debt at some point.

To be clear, I believe taxes are part of the dues we pay to live in our society. But, no American should praise the dollars they have shell out to finance this illegal and immoral war. And every American should be outraged about the cuts in critical societal programs that will inevitably come to pay for the cost of the war.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Nozebro]

5. NO. That should have happened five years ago next month. nt

nt

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[Sherman A1]

2. Okay and who committed troops to the war?

Who delivered the "faulty" intelligence? Who sold the war to the Congress and the Media and the American People? Did one US Senator do that all alone? Hmmmmm?????

[Nozebro]

3. Absolutely right & Hillary Clinton will lose if NYorkers "get smart". nt

nt

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[CollegeDUer]

10. Greenwich Village and the PDA are against her

I think a large segment of manhattan will be the strongest against her in the primaries.

[LeftCoast]

4. Tasini needs two things for his quest to be complete:

&

[CollegeDUer]

9. It's not his fault the politics of the country are controlled by money

He's making a noble effort and is a good man. Degrading good people only helps the bad.

[LeftCoast]

11. Fair enough, but you should tell that to the folks who are slagging HRC

cuz it pretty much looks to me like she's going to be the nominee and all this anti-Hillaryism is just going to be used against her in the fall by the repubs.

[CollegeDUer]

12. What is the GOP going to say:

"She's not antiwar enough!!"

"She was against a ceasefire!!"

"But she doesn't support gay marriage!!"

The left wing criticisms are not going to be used by the GOP, for some reason I think that. If anything they're going to cast her as some kind of communist/socialist, which is just ridiculous but the GOP is not known for its honesty or sanity.

[LeftCoast]

14. Tasini is using republican talking points tying HRC to higher taxes

Color me cynical, but a former green challenging a popular and well-known Democratic senator while using RW talking points just doesn't sit right with me. It certainly doesn't help that he has no chance in hell of winning the primary.

[BurtWorm]

15. No Republican would use that line in this political climate.

They'd be shooting themselves in their own feet.

[readmoreoften]

16. A former Green? Show me evidence. And these are not "Republican" TPs.

The high cost of the war is not a republican talking point. Economic conservatives believe that tax dollars should only be used for national security. Tasini is a Democrat. Show me how he's a "Green"? And while you're doing that, I'd like to point out that Clinton is a former "Republican"-- if you want to go back in time. The only thing that matters now is that they are both Democrats.

[CollegeDUer]

18. We're paying more for an uneccesary war

It's not exactly a GOP talking point.

[BurtWorm]

13. The Republicans are zero threat to her in New York.

Zero.

Unfortunately, the left hasn't gotten its act together well enough to help make Tasini much more of a threat. I wish I had gotten on the ball a lot earlier.

[bvar22]

8. K&R

This needs wider distribution.

Support Tasini.
http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/Donate
http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/

The Democratic Party Honor Roll
These Democrats should be remembered for their principled stand against the CORPORATE WAR Machine.

Iraq War Resolution

United States Senate

In the Senate, the 21 Democrats, one Republican and one Independent who courageously voted their consciences in 2002 against the War in Iraq were:

Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
Barbara Boxer (D-California)
Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)
Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey)
Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota)
Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Bob Graham (D-Florida)
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont)
Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)
Patty Murray (D-Washington)
Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland)
Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
The late Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota)
Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island)


United States House of Representatives

Six House Republicans and one independent joined 126 Democratic members of the House of Represenatives:

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)
Tom Allen (D-Maine)
Joe Baca (D-California)
Brian Baird (D-Washington DC)
John Baldacci (D-Maine, now governor of Maine)
Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)
Xavier Becerra (D-California)
Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon)
David Bonior (D-Michigan, retired from office)
Robert Brady (D-Pennsylvania)
Corinne Brown (D-Florida)
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Lois Capps (D-California)
Michael Capuano (D-Massachusetts)
Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland)
Julia Carson (D-Indiana)
William Clay, Jr. (D-Missouri)
Eva Clayton (D-North Carolina, retired from office)
James Clyburn (D-South Carolina)
Gary Condit (D-California, retired from office)
John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan)
Jerry Costello (D-Illinois)
William Coyne (D-Pennsylvania, retired from office)
Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland)
Susan Davis (D-California)
Danny Davis (D-Illinois)
Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon)
Diana DeGette (D-Colorado)
Bill Delahunt (D-Massachusetts)
Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut)
John Dingell (D-Michigan)
Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania)
Anna Eshoo (D-California)
Lane Evans (D-Illinois)
Sam Farr (D-California)
Chaka Fattah (D-Pennsylvania)
Bob Filner (D-California)
Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts)
Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas)
Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois)
Alice Hastings (D-Florida)
Earl Hilliard (D-Alabama, retired from office)
Maurice Hinchey (D-New York)
Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas)
Rush Holt (D-New Jersey)
Mike Honda (D-California)
Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon)

[mom cat]

17. Tasini needs our help pronto!

http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/

He won't take money from lobbiests like Hil will, so he needs it from us.