So the Representative from Wisconsin has an interesting idea. The idea is not unprecedented by any meaning of the word but it is definitely going to be unpopular. I don’t think it will ever pass but it brings up an interesting point. How should America pay for its overseas conflicts?

Paying for a war has always been a hot topic in any generation. This congressman has offered a solution of there being a war tax. Between 1-5 percent of your income would go to fund the wars unless you or your family members have served in the military since September 11, 2001.

I’m not a fan of tax in general but this one is at least a specific cause and effect relationship. Unless you have paid for the war with your service then you have to pay for it out of your wallet. If the rest of the tax system wasn’t so insane I might even say this tax was a good thing. To get it straight that is not what I’m saying. I’m against any kind of income tax at all. There are money other places where the government could procure funds.

If this tax were implemented, it would impact all Americans directly in a way it hasn’t. One of the largest problem with our attitude towards the war and towards everything in general is apathy. It doesn’t affect out daily lives so why should we care. Yeah people will wave flags on fourth of July and act patriotic when the moment is right, but we do not let the war change our daily behavior. We still go out and buy that big screen tv. We still go out to eat every night. We still go deep into credit card debt. We are more concerned with out own prosperity than our national security.

I think that making the war have a direct impact on everyone would make a positive impact. It would make everyone personally involved. It would give a reason for more people to speak out louder against war. These people speaking out would at least have a more legitimate reason than “Bush sucked”. So I say bring the tax on. It will cause unrest and shake the political landscape up a little.