"The Wages of Peace"

In the March 31, 2008 of the Nation Magazine (http://www.thenation.com) there was an eye-opening article by Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier titled "The Wages of Peace". The essential argument of it was that the spending on the war in Iraq is a job killer. They also advocate the fact that ending the war will free up resources to help rescue the U.S. economy from a looming recession.

One statistic that was particularly striking to me was what was sighted on pages 24 and 25 of the March 31, 2008 edition of the Nation magazine. It cited studies by the Institute for Policy Studies (http://www.ips-dc.org) and the National Priorities Project (http://www.nationalpriorities.org) noting that the cost of the war to the City of Cleveland is $ 479.2 Million. The services that could have been provided by the City of Cleveland for this amount is noted below:

1) $ 43.6 Million to retrofit 48,784 Homes with renewable electricity;
2) $ 43.6 Million to provide health care for 24,772 children;
3) $ 43.6 Million to provide health care to 14,601 people;
4) $ 43.6 Million to provide 6726 Head Start places for Children;
5) $ 43.6 Million to provide 5390 scholarships for University Students;
6) $ 43.6 Million to hire 1045 Public Safety Officers;
7) $ 43.6 Million to hire 899 Port Container Inspectors;
8) $ 43.6 Million to hire 740 elementary school teachers;
9) $ 43.6 Million to hire 647 Music & Arts Teachers;
10)$ 43.6 Million to build 406 affordable housing Units;
11) $ 44.6 Million to build 4 new Elementary Schools

Instead of this potential life-changing investment, the folks who got rich were the 625 corporations who have been active in the Iraq war. We have to think about our priorities for the sake of our children.

When will this nightmare end? When will we understand our true priorities?

Another Interesting Few Days.....

The Results are in.....and Nothing has been decided yet to see who will be fighting it out for the highest office in the U.S. As the pundits continue to mull over the results of the two political contests so far, violence around the world has continued to claim lives beyond our shores. In Pakistan, 25 police officers were killed in a suicide attack, according to the BBC. The Pentagon has annouced a potential troop surge for Afghanistan. How that surge will work when 70%+ of the country is outstide the control of the central government in Kabul is beyond me.

I urge team members to visit the Nation website (http://www.thenation.com) and read Tariq Ali's article on "Pakistan's Plight".

When will it all end?