Bush's Budgets - Where fiscal and moral bankruptcy collide

Where fiscal and moral bankruptcy collide
By Avery Walker

http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/avery/bankruptcy_021405.htm

The Iraqi people have spoken, and until that results in a Shiite vs. Sunni Holy/Civil War and the fall of a previously neutralized threat to a regime that will actually be willing to share power with terrorist factions, we can all take a moment to honestly enjoy the beauty of Democracy in bloom. And at a cost of just $158 billion (only counting costs projected through the end of February,) the price can’t be beat at just $19,750 a vote.

At a continuing cost of $6 billion a month, you can add $750 to the cost of each of those 8 million votes every 30 days of the occupation. One would think that for twenty grand a head, we could have waged effective, civilian-friendly war—or even a civilian-run insurgency, since the culture was clearly so yearning for Democracy. Hell, for that price, we still could have bombed them, but given each a 2005 Pontiac to make up for it.

Alright, you caught me. I overestimated. February is the shortest month, so we can subtract a cool fifty bucks off the cost of each of those votes for this month. (Anyone buy that it’s just a coincidence that it’s also Black History Month?)

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Apparently, the right of Americans to vote isn’t worth the attention of Congress, while the right of Iraqis to vote was so morally urgent that it should cost taxpayers in my ailing home State of California alone $19 billion so far. Well, as long as Nurses aren’t getting overtime or additional help, I’m sure Governor Schwarzenegger sees no problem with that kind of spending. Luckily for his image on paper, the President failed to include the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan in the new Federal budget.

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