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Beto O'Rourke proposes 'war tax' as part of veterans' plan

azgreg

azgreg

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Beto O'Rourke proposes 'war tax' as part of veterans' plan - CNNPolitics

(CNN)Non-military households would pay a "war tax" to help cover the health care of veterans of newly-authorized wars under a plan Beto O'Rourke's campaign unveiled Monday.

The former Texas congressman and 2020 Democratic presidential contender's proposal is part of a series of health and economic measures aimed at improving care for veterans.
O'Rourke is in Tampa on Monday for a veterans' roundtable, where he is expected to discuss his plan for the first time. It comes before the Democratic field holds its first debate Wednesday and Thursday nights in Miami.
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Veterans - Beto For America

Interesting. Not sure what I think about this right now.
 
O'Dork really needs to stop eating that New Mexican dirt.
 
azgreg said:
Beto O'Rourke proposes 'war tax' as part of veterans' plan - CNNPolitics



Veterans - Beto For America

Interesting. Not sure what I think about this right now.
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Congress would have to declare war, this would be a strong measure at aligning the people, Congress and the Executive around such a commitment. Only under that circumstance would such a tax be justified and such a war be justified. It would also be a way to deter the war, as such a measure would be tantamount to a tax increase for everyone. Such a measure would also give societal solidarity around veterans should such processes be properly implemented.

Just some initial thoughts in the PRO column.
 
azgreg said:
Beto O'Rourke proposes 'war tax' as part of veterans' plan - CNNPolitics



Veterans - Beto For America

Interesting. Not sure what I think about this right now.
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My thinking about it is relatively simple: whether or not they sign up for it, we ask - command - them to go overseas to bleed and die in the **** and the mud. We owe them.

Separately, I want us to pay for what we spend before "fixing spending." It's not working this way around. Time to pay, then ask whether we really want to pay that much. This subject can be tossed into that.
 
Roadvirus said:
O'Dork really needs to stop eating that New Mexican dirt.
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This may be a phrase I'm not familiar with, but I do hope it's not mockery. Or do you think we shouldn't cover our vet's resulting health issues as it sounds to me (again, not knowing the phrase)?
 
azgreg said:
Beto O'Rourke proposes 'war tax' as part of veterans' plan - CNNPolitics

Veterans - Beto For America

Interesting. Not sure what I think about this right now.
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Even your source suggests this is not original thinking, and has even been tried recently in various committees of which O’Rourke was part of.

The issue comes down to the application of when this kicks in. Anything tied to a formal declaration of war is easily avoided by how we have been entering into these conflicts in modern times. Anything tied to just a conflict in the more traditional sense would see us enacting this tax (or fee, or whatever you want to call it) all the damn time.

There is also a hidden triangle of responsibility with this thinking. President (and potential Congress) gets us into yet another conflict, Congress applies the tax, the voter decides to make war an election issue because of the tax on the assumption of making all war become a financial matter (politically speaking.)

I like the idea in principle, worried about the application (and of course the fine print.)
 
Mr Person said:
My thinking about it is relatively simple: whether or not they sign up for it, we ask - command - them to go overseas to bleed and die in the **** and the mud. We owe them.

Separately, I want us to pay for what we spend before "fixing spending." It's not working this way around. Time to pay, then ask whether we really want to pay that much. This subject can be tossed into that.
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Don't get me wrong, I think we should give our veterans everything they need and then some. However, I would rather it came out of the general fund and not just some special tax. It's a disgrace how our government ****s on our vets.
 
azgreg said:
Don't get me wrong, I think we should give our veterans everything they need and then some. However, I would rather it came out of the general fund and not just some special tax. It's a disgrace how our government ****s on our vets.
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Are you talking about the VA?
 
Rexedgar said:
I’m not certain that this issue will resonate with the electorate....
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Military is the most trusted and respected institution left, according to polling.
 
It was pathetic enough that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were basically paid for on a credit card and the resulting lack of proper health and mental health support post war has caused great strife, pain, suicide and broken homes among many veterans.

And that’s partially because very few people want to put their money where their mouths are, so many Americans want all the advantages of a hyper advanced society with ultra modern weaponry, and kickass stealth jets and wars galore... they just don’t wanna pay for it, or they’re ok paying for more military than the next 25 countries combined but everything and everyone else, especially the poor should get ****ed and despite all the ra ra military that so many politicians subscribe to, very rarely is funding levels and the state of the VA discussed.

And that doesn’t even get to the political side of things, many nations throughout history have sent their young people into war promising to take care of them if anything happens and too many of those young people get left behind anyway despite holding up their end of the bargain.

A sorry state of affairs.
 
Beto is fading fast, so what he says doesnt matter.
 
I kind of like the idea. People would think a little harder about supporting wars if it was hitting them directly in the pocketbook.
 
I was wondering why anyone cared what RF "Beto" thought. I see that no one does.
 
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