Not exactly sure if this is an opinon or a great debate, being new here but it seems more of an opinon.
Since the war in Iraq costs a lot of money why doesn’t the government sell war bonds.
It may not help a lot to reduce overall costs but it would help somewhat, it would put the onus of the war costs on the politicians and people who support GW Bush and the war to buy them and back up their man with some solid action
Because so far they’ve been able to fund the war by borrowing money elsewhere, driving the nation deeper and deeper into debt, and there have been no tabgible political consequences?
Because the war is now so wildly unpopular that no one would buy them?
Because when war bonds have been issued in the past there’s been an actual declaration of war, unlike now?
Because there’s been some defineable end point to previous wars for which bonds have been issued, and no such defineable end point exists for the “war on terror”?
I have no idea really.
They do. They just call them Savings Bonds.
This article explains some good reasons not to buy US bonds. The main difference between running a deficit and selling bonds is that bonds have to be repaid in a set time period, while the deficit can always be paid “someday,” and someday is somebody else’s problem.
Hmm…should I buy war bonds or just wait for those retirement checks from Enron to arrive…both sound like good financial plans to me.
I wasn’t aware there was any significant difference between ‘war bonds’ and normal government securities with a similar term and payback structure. I can’t see there would be much benefit to printing “WAR BOND” all over a run of Savings Bonds, but who knows.
In 1954 defense accounted for 69.5 percent of federal spending and “human resources” (programs such as Social Security, Medicare, job training and food stamps) only 18.5 percent. In 2005 defense was 20 percent and human resources 64.2 percent.
There isn’t.
I suppose it would motivate a few people to buy for patriotic reasons. On the other hand, it would motivate just as many (more?) people not to buy for the reasons Otto gave. Plus it would highlight the cost of the war–not something that this administration or any administration likes to do unless the war is as “popular” as WWI or WWII.
I think they’ve too busy selling all the country to dubious foreign interests, so there’s no hope of paying off bonds.
And if that one fact alone doesn’t scare the shit out of you, then you’re not capable of cognative thought.
After 9/11 the Treasury Dept sold terrorism bonds, er-- freedom bonds-- liberty bonds, something like that.
Patriot Bonds