Many Make the Supreme Sacrifice. What About the Rest of Us?

On a shadow box shelf in our guest bathroom is displayed a paper booklet from the U.S. Office of Price Administration, a World War II agency formed to help the war effort. It is my father’s War Ration Book containing stamps of apparently various values. These stamps were to be used for goods that were being rationed so that enough materiel was available to our troops. Gasoline, tires, meat, sugar, nylon, and silk were some of the many items subject to rationing. Even bicycles were on the list.

On the back of the ration stamp booklet was the following: IMPORTANT: When you have used your ration, salvage the TIN CANS, and WASTE FATS. They are needed to make munitions for our fighting men. Cooperate with your local Salvage Committee.

We ask our volunteer military to fight for us, and they know that there is a possibility that they may have to make the supreme sacrifice. They do so willingly. The current recession notwithstanding, we as U.S. citizens are asked to sacrifice little for this war effort. Instead of a tax increase or a temporary war surcharge, we cry for our taxes to be even lower. We do not need to sacrifice to buy sugar and meat anymore – production is apparently plentiful. Yet the real costs in billions of tax dollars are flowing into the war theatre using borrowing to fund the whole shebang. It is de rigueur to say that we are borrowing from China for our day-to-day expenses so we are financing our war with bonds sold to foreign investors. Not necessarily a bad thing in moderation, but lately we would be in a world of hurt should all those bonds be called.

Raising taxes is anathema to politicians no matter the need. But a war surcharge, with total transparency of the money raised and spent, might actually get widespread approval from the citizens. At least we could see where that money was going.

Of course, the cost of the currents wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are far less costly than WW II, when war costs were almost 40% of (then) GNP. Today, the war costs are about 1.2% (2008) of GDP, actually a minor number. Yet few Americans other than military families feel that they are doing anything directly to help with the war effort. Even those opposed to the wars are quick to say they still support our troops. So maybe we should all put a little of our money where our collective mouths are and support our country’s efforts at fighting terrorism abroad. It would be a lot less messy than collecting used bacon grease.