Betsy Crites: Paying for ‘forever wars’

In her April 29 column “Time to end ‘forever war,’ ” Jennifer Daskal reminded us that the 2001 authorization to use force against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks now is being used to justify endless military actions, even against groups and nations that had nothing to do with those attacks. But even if Congress were to exercise its constitutional responsibilities, we would still be involved in “forever wars.”

As long as Congress funds the Pentagon beyond its wildest dreams, the Pentagon will unload its billions on eager military contractors, who in turn show their gratitude with campaign donations and other favors to our members of Congress.

We have a system that incentivizes war. Taxpayers don’t seem to mind paying the bills.

This year the “security” tab will consume $598 billion – that’s 54 percent of federal discretionary spending. This translates into an average of $3,500 per taxpayer for FY 2015-2016. With that much profit at stake, we will continue these “forever wars,” with or without legal authorization, unless of course taxpayers start paying attention.

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Betsy Crites: Paying for ‘forever wars’."