In challenging times like ours, it is important to step back and look at
the big picture. In the Senate we wrestle with painful choices to
balance the state budget. Some factors affecting the budget are outside
of our control, some we can control, and others fall somewhere
in-between. While most legislative work addresses things we have direct
control over, we should at least understand other factors influencing
the resources available.
The cost of the Iraq and Afghan wars is the budgetary "elephant in the
room." It's enormous and it's right in front of us, yet we don't talk
about it as we face our economic woes. We don't need to get into
arguments about the wars to consider the burden war places on our economy.
President Dwight Eisenhower, one of our nation's greatest military
leaders, late in life, expressed deep concern about what he called "the
military industrial complex." Eisenhower stated, "Every gun that is
made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final
sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold
and are not clothed."
During World War II, people were told that the war would require blood,
toil, tears, and sweat -- real sacrifice, not just for soldiers
overseas, but also for the people back home.
In contrast, for the current Iraq and Afghan wars, people were told they
wouldn't have to sacrifice at all; taxes would be cut, not raised.
President Bush told people after 9/11 that the patriotic thing to do was
to "go shopping." Perhaps that was due to delusional ideology, or
perhaps it was a trigger-happy leader who recognized that if people
understood the true cost, the war would be unjustifiable.
What this means for Minnesota's economy is clear. In addition to the
incredible sacrifices made by so many military families, Minnesota's
share of the cost of the wars now exceeds $5 billion for every two-year
state budget cycle. Think of the investments that could be made in our
communities if the federal government invested that money in the states
instead of in the war. We could have avoided the layoffs of teachers and
police and firefighters and health care workers. Think of the
investments in living wage jobs, the investments in nursing homes for
seniors, the investments in early childhood and helping at-risk kids
succeed, the investments in public infrastructure.
Minnesotans working to build a better future face growing setbacks:
Young people on the "six year plan" to get a two year college degree
because they work two jobs to pay tuition. Parents struggle to find a
safe place for their young kids during the workday because of cuts in
sliding-fee child care. Employers unable to hire older workers because
their pre-existing conditions would send the employer's insurance
premiums through the roof. People with disabilities face shrinking state
programs that once covered them.
Those setbacks occur because states are unable to help people get a fair
shake due to budget problems. It is time to press Washington to change
its priorities away from war and into facing human needs in our communities.
The military budgets of all other nations of the world combined, barely
exceeds the $693 billion the U.S. will spend on the military this year.
And the $693 billion doesn't include the $42 billion for Homeland
Security, nor the undisclosed budget for the National Intelligence Program.
Based on population, Minnesota's share of total military spending,
including the two wars, is almost $12 billion every year. That's
two-thirds as large as our entire state general fund budget of roughly
$17 billion/year. Imagine what we could accomplish if we cut our
military spending by half. The savings would balance the state budget
and make huge investments in education and community development.
President Eisenhower said, "I hate war, as only a soldier who has lived
it can, as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
He was clear in his message: "This world in arms is not spending money
alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its
scientists, the hope of its children."
Sixty years later, we can see that the endless war has a real cost here
at home. For the first time in our history, we are losing ground: High
school students today have a lower graduation rate than their parents'
generation. Fewer young adults have access to health care than their
parents have. Today's workers will be less likely to have a decent
pension than their parents enjoy. Eisenhower warned us. In spending
money on war, we are truly taking away the hope of our children.
If we care about our future, ignoring the economic cost of war is just
as foolish as ignoring the human cost.
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Senator John Marty is a Democratic Candidate for Governor in Minnesota.
Please visit his website at
John Marty
After Downing Street