Let me show you how to make money at home so you can:
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Let's |
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Let's count all
that gold bullion |
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As the war clouds gather round us again the War Will Make Us Rich theory of economics rears its ugly head in the bars and even in some business circles once more. Even state and national historians have insisted the theory is true that war will save our economy and in some magical way boost the supply of bucks bumping around in our pockets as we "SPEND OUR WAY out of a depression." Unfortunately, Not even the alleged purchase of 30,000 body bags keeps the new advocates of the War-is-Wonderful and will make us rich theory from fervently contemplating the burst of prosperity this new war in the gulf will bring to us. You are invited to continue reading in the next frame. |
There's no need to be broke all your life!
Let me show you how to make money at home so you can:
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According to the War-is-Wonderful and will make us rich theory so prevalent among politicians and barflies: as the body bags fill up with the mangled youth of our nation, each parent can know that every child so sacrificed was a hero worth a sack full of gold bullion to the economy. Does that make sense to you? Were we richer every time a cargo ship went down? Were we richer for removing the healthiest workers from the job market and paying them to stand at attention in harm's way with money our government rolled off the hot presses? If this theory is true then, at the end of World War I we should have got down on our knees and thanked the Germans for making us richer. Instead the allies insisted on imposing the harsh reparations that fueled Hitler's rise to power and precipitated World War II. In World War II Germany pounded England without mercy. Was England richer because of it? Or was Churchill right when he said there was nothing but beer cans left to throw at the German invaders when they arrived because there were no pounds left in England's Royal Treasury? Were we made richer because the Japanese destroyed our Pacific fleet and we had to replace it, along with the trained men who were killed in that savage attack? When German cities and tanks and munitions were destroyed by the allies did they make that economy soar? Did the Viet Nam war prosper us -- or them? Did the first Gulf War enrich us? We have been told the attack on the World Trade Center was an act of war from terrorists, so when it collapsed did a huge mound of gold magically rise from the ashes and pour into our coffers? Has anything at all from the War on Terror done ANYTHING to flood our coffers? I submit that only a few friends of the Government got rich, that only a few (lucky) workers received enhanced wages, and that the rest of US tightened our belts and suffered the consequences because there was a war on. I completely reject the War-is-Wonderful and will make us rich theory. Let's use the price of gas as indicative of other staples fluctuating and do some basic math here. In 1914, gas prices were hovering at 14.5 cents per gallon. Right after World War II, gas prices were bouncing around the quarter a gallon mark. After Korea, gas prices were knocking at the half dollar a gallon mark. Viet Nam, and then the First Gulf War brought gas prices up to the dollar mark. By the time the World Trade Center went down gas prices were almost $1.50 per gallon. Now that our 90 day war in the Gulf is settling down to sporadic blazes of glory, gas prices are occasionally spiking over the $4.00 a gallon mark. It is common practice for the Government to blame the mean old oil companies for gouging the American Public with rising gas prices -- and it works -- kind of like Hitler staying in power by blaming the Jews for cornering the supply of money. In these modern days the focus has shifted to blaming the Arabs for charging too much for a barrel of oil. But actually, the underlying reason for these tragic increases is because believing the War-is-Wonderful and will make us rich theory is bleeding US to death. Blame the oil companies, blame the Arabs, blame the terrorists, blame anybody you want to for thwarting the economic power of this War-is-Wonderful theory, but the fact remains that even after all these wonderful wars, our country is now poor, not rich.
You are invited to continue reading in the next frame. |
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You see this theory posted in state owned museums, you read it alluded to in many speeches and political writing, and you hear it praised in bars and taverns all across the land: is there any sense at all contained in the War-is-Wonderful and will make us rich theory? Well, ask yourself these simple questions: Can you get a drought to end by pouring your last gallon of water down a rat hole? Can you put more bread on the table by burning off half the wheat in the field? You know as well as I do the answer to all these questions is a resounding NO! If any of these questions could be answered with an affirmative YES there could only be three things make war profitable.
I'll examine these one by one to see if any of them have a chance of working. Does war pay because we kill off our young people? If so, then why send them off to some dirty, filthy, unhealthy foreign country to do them in? It would be much simpler to just line all our High School football players up on the streets during every Fourth of July celebration -- with the richest kids right out there in front since they are worth more -- and have our mayors direct the police to mow them down with brand new machine guns. Does war pay because we scrap our equipment? If so, then let's roll all of it into the ocean and make it do a David Crockett "SKOW" as it goes down. Maybe if we auction off the film rights to Hollywood we can even get paid twice. Does war pay because we spend our money with reckless abandon? If that is true, we don't have to waste it on killing and destruction that could make us enemies... Instead, let's pay the mothers of this great nation for raising bright children. For each child producing straight A-s
pay the mother (or guardian) $10,000.00 per year. Wouldn't that be a hoot? Instead of crying because they have lost a child in some crummy, jerkwater country, there would be tears of joy because their child had applied a few brains to the chalkboard! Do wars ever produce anything besides indebtedness, death and destruction? When the war is over and that illusion of loose gold quits spinning, we invariably pay for the war because we have nothing but Tricky Dick gold left to shore up our ravaged treasury with. You are invited to continue reading in the next frame. |
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Killing off the youth of this planet does not improve anyone's economy. Just since the year 1900 CE. we have killed off over 100 million people. Let those who believe in the theory that War Will Make Us Rich, count up the carnage of wars past and explain -- in simple English -- where the replacement funds for the money we rolled off the hot presses came from.
Perhaps some college professor teaching the Government that war can make us rich can explain these particular figures: In 1914 our national debt was $2,912,499,269.16 By 1919 our national debt was $27,390,970,113.12 Remember too that from then, right up to this very day we are still paying benefits to some of the veterans who came home from that war. Add it ALL up, professor. Tell us: How much prosperity did that Great War bring us? Destruction does not breed wealth. In July of 2008 Foreclosure Filings Soared 121 Percent over 2007. 220,000 homes were lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter alone. That is nearly triple the number from the same period in 2007. Back in 1939 our national debt was $40,439,532,411.11 By 1945 our national debt was $258,682,187,409.93 and again, we had not yet begun to pay off our debts to the veterans who fought our war. War made us Rich? Get real! War slapped a saddle on our
backs Although only 148 soldiers were killed and 467 soldiers wounded in the first Gulf War, ten years later we have almost two out of every five Gulf War Veterans on disability. What kind of wealth have we created? On top of that, we are still paying for World War
I The fact is, NONE of these Wars made us Rich because:
Today (7 January 2003) our national debt Since 1952 the international reserve position of the U.S. has fallen from 50% of the world's total to a mere 3% of that total - - In spite of all our wars and fighting that was going to make us rich, that means we have created a 94% drop in our net worth bucket. In short, there is no basis in fact for the War Will Make US Rich theory -- mostly because it has somehow mutated from the old law of sacrifice. You may remember it. In biblical times hundreds of infants were sacrificed on the altars of Baal in order to improve the economy. If we pursue the theory that filling up X number of body bags with the pride of our nation will make us rich, are we any wiser now than they were then? If another war is ever forced upon us by the enemy -- let our anger at the cost help us to respond in strength, to fight on principles of righteousness, with our eyes open, knowing all the while that it is costing us money, time, and lives. I beg of you, don't ever welcome war because of some secret hope that our financial coffers will be filled by those bags of silver spilling their guts out over our great nation. It won't happen. NO war will EVER
make us rich, War COSTS money. |
the end
Addendum: 30 June 2008: President Bush on Monday signed legislation to pay for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency and beyond, hailing the $162 billion plan as a rare product of bipartisan cooperation. And don't forget, we still have to pay Bush's salary until he dies.
Lin Stone is an author, writer, and photographer. Click HERE to read more of his articles and essays.
Discover these great essays in the following folders
Family
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War
* Freedom * Money
* Superb Essays from 1850
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And then, we have these essays in the GENERAL ESSAYS category which don't seem to fit anywhere in particular: By Reason Alone.. That Roosevelt can do no wrong is Burroughs’s opinion; and that Burroughs is always right is Roosevelt’s opinion. Both are agreed that animals do not reason. They assert that all animals below man are automatons and perform actions only of two sorts—mechanical and reflex—and that in such actions no reasoning enters at all. They believe that man is the only animal capable of reasoning and that ever does reason. *** No man is an island, is an old saying that was meant to say that no man stood alone, but needed help from others, and gave strength to others. But, here is the story of an island that was a man. In the short history of time, there was one island that was a monument to a single man. It starts out like a fairy tale.. Once upon a time there was a barren island. This almost insignificant little man was sent off to this barren island and turned it into a mirror of his soul and the fulfillment of his vision. One stick at a time he turned his barren island into a work of lasting, world-renowned beauty and peace, an island where the nightingales sang songs of singular wonder ne'er found elsewhere since this little man set down roots on a barren island, and bloomed. ** Most of man's dreams are based on false assumptions. We dream of loping free with the wolves, but really don't like fleas. We dream of the security that lambs must feel, but don't want to be sheared. We dream of being lions, but gag at eating raw meat. We dream of being loved, but can't see the way or take the time to make ourselves lovable. Was There EVER A Man On The Moon? How far can reason alone take us from the beaten path of acknowledged history? *** RIGHT CLICK on this one. LIVES ON THE LINE, Americans can be proud of today's soldiers. A Definition Of History by Leo Tolstoy gives us yet another peg to hang our ratiocinations upon. ** ** Charity never faileth, especially when our hearts fill to overflowing with charity. ** Global Warming freezes thermometers ** Man, the Meanie of the Planet. This is a high resolution pdf document so you can print it out and hang it on the wall. Be sure to RIGHT Click the link, and save it to your computer. ** Are we forever Doomed? An essayic poem by Rudyard Kipling * I see Grandpa. He's calling out for me. God Does Not Fit -- by Lance Nalley * SOCIALISM, Slavery and Tyranny by R. J. Harris ** Deliberate Fraud: Evolutionists resort to the lowest forms of fraud in order to gain more believers. ** When Theories fail.. Petty science teachers can rage until doomsday that no two snowflakes are identical, but until every snowflake that has ever fallen or ever shall fall is matched against every other snowflake that has already fallen or ever shall try to fall -- the identical snowflake theory remains just a theory resting in lolly-gagging land.
** A Break From Boredom -- by Lance Nalley ** INVICTUS... Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit, from pole to pole ** The gods and Heroes of the Ancient World ** Staunch, steadfast, loyal and true. What better friend can a man have? *** The House By The Side Of The Road ** Friendship, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A ruddy drop of manly blood The surging sea outweighs, The world uncertain comes and goes, The lover rooted stays. I fancied he was fled, And, after many a year, Glowed unexhausted kindliness Like daily sunrise there. My careful heart was free again, -- O friend, my bosom said, Through thee alone the sky is arched, Through thee the rose is red, All things through thee take nobler form, And look beyond the earth, And is the mill-round of our fate A sun-path in thy worth. Me too thy nobleness has taught To master my despair; The fountains of my hidden life Are through thy friendship fair. ** *** A thing of beauty
is a joy forever: The Moon on Six Pence Uncle Bob was an unforgettable character who traveled the world on bargain rates and golden smiles! ** The Almost Good Housekeeping monograph is a good excuse for the harried homemaker to put off until tomorrow all those burdens of yesteryear, and quit trying so hard. ** Sex before the Sax: The first thing I learned about Lois was she had a label for being froward. Kids at school said she had had sex with Alfred. Not long after I arrived, another boy came forward to admit he had made a score at her door. ** Old Rattler, and the King Snake. Down and Dirty with Darwin Evolutionists are now feeling so battered that university professors advise their students not to discuss this theory with non-believers. "Sounds like a religious cult to me," say some. Pleasures of the open fire: The Fireplace Revisited. Don't Make Us
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