Paying Their Fair Share in Iraq

Articles

Scott R. Lucado

Paying Their Fair Share in Iraq
Sept 18, 2003

Any way you look at it, $87 billion is a lot of money. Sure, it's just a tiny fragment of the overall U.S. Federal budget, but I wonder why it is that Joe Taxpayer (i.e., me) has to foot the entire amount. After all, we're bringing some form of enlightenment to a benighted land. That ought to be worth something.

After giving it some thought, I have a proposal for how the United States can fund the reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Let's face it, these days, most of the damage being done over there isn't by American explosives or acts of war, it's being done by terrorists internal to the country. In other words, it's Iraqi-on-Iraq violence.

Since it's their country, why not let them pay for it? Why should we spend a gazillion dollars to rebuild a country that has no exports except for one, and it's one that they just happen to live on top of? The average Iraqi wasn't getting any oil revenue anyway; even if we acquire half of their gross oil receipts, they'll still be better off than under Saddam.

So--why don't we just extract a $10 "reconstruction tariff" from each barrel of oil that Iraq sells?

If that weren't enough of an enticement, keep in mind that the French buy much of Iraq's oil. In other words, we'd be getting their money. Now there's poetic justice for you.

As to all those "No Blood For Oil" protests-- well, better that than blood for nothing.

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Email Scott R. Lucado: scottrlucado@aol.com

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