Week of July 19 Economic

Wars, like everything else, seem more expensive as the years go by. So far the War on Terror has cost "a staggering $1 trillion to date", second only to the $4 trillion of World War II. Technology poses the primary problem, though transportation over a terrain in a landlocked country is also an issue. Expensive, sometimes fragile, equiptment and specialized training (resulting in highter pay) for soldiers have increased the financial price of war considerably. Unfortunately, "the army is at war, but the country is not". American society has been largely unaffected by the war, no increase in taxes, no rationing of food. In contrast to our, "seemingly endless credit[...] as compared to the sacrifice and unity required to wring $4 trillion from a much smaller economy to wage the earlier war". It would seem that America has lost its sense of pride and unity, usually binding together wholeheartedly in times of war, such as when women took over men's jobs in factories to keep production going. Then again, the uproar from the public if their taxes increased to fund the war effort might not be worth it.

Article Referenced:

Bumiller, Elisabeth. "The War; A Trillion Can Be Cheap". NYTimes. New York Times. 24 July 2010. Web. 29 August 2010.

Source: http://sghsapusgovmes.blogspot.com/2010/08/week-of-july-19-economic.html