Patri's Journal: Current
This is Patri's current journal. It is kept on LiveJournal as patrissimo, but you are reading the archived copy on patrifriedman.com.
stupid spending alternatives (comment on this entry at LiveJournal)
Entry Date: 2004-08-11 13:01:00
Logged: 2004-08-11 13:04:53
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Current Music: Steeleye Span-Bedlam Born-The Connemara Cradle Song
This NYT Op-Chart has the right general idea. By considering alternative uses for the money we are spending in Iraq, we get a clearer idea of whether it was worthwhile, and whether it was the best approach.
On the other hand, I am rather unimpressed by their alternate solutions. The only one I'm enthusiastic about is the program to safeguard nuclear material in former USSR states. Adding two divisions to the army is just stupid. If we want to "relieve pressure on the NG and reservists..." why don't we let Germany and Japan protect themselves? We really don't need that many troops on that many military bases around the world. The money for "rebuilding Afghanistan" commits the same folly as the invasion of Iraq - thinking that we can create stable government just by spending money. The central government is powerless against the warlords, and building more roads isn't gonna do jack to change that.
The crop conversion plan is even more idiotic. If farmers make more money on opium, they are going to grow opium again the moment you stop paying them. There is nothing you can do about it. Why not be happy that they have an income stream which is unusually profitable for such a poor country?
The whole plan is all about blindly throwing money at the problem, instead of carefully considering effective solutions. recently wrote that conservatives think liberals are stupid, and liberals think conservatives are evil. Well, I think that conservatives try to fix problems by throwing men with guns at them, and liberals try to fix problems by throwing money at them. If only more people would try to fix problems by understanding them, analyzing them, and then picking the most effective means to address their causes and symptoms, maybe some problems would actually get fixed.
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