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The Lockean Project

Reckless spending

“‘Reckless spending,’” Carmel Pine Cone – May 27, 2022

I loved the editor’s recent quote from Barbara Tuchman: It’s common for heads of state and military leaders to find themselves caught “between the rocks of conscience and the shoals of political reality.” Timely quote. Tuchman’s most compelling history book, “The March of Folly from Troy to Vietnam,” chronicles the senseless march of war through the centuries.

Might the United States government grapple more with the rocks of conscience as it drags us headlong into a major war in Europe? This one is advertised as a “good war,” somehow different from the many Tuchman writes about.

President Biden proposed a $33 billion war package, which the House passed and increased to $40 billion. Where is the money going? Mostly to weapons, apparently. Where is it coming from? From new taxes? Cutting the budget somewhere else? No, it appears to come from borrowing and money printing.

With this kind of reckless spending, it’s not surprising it’s not surprising that the annual inflation rate for the United States was 8.3 percent for the 12 months ending in April. Where does this leave the American who’s trying to save some money? The average certificate of deposit now earns about 2 percent. I leave it to the reader to calculate how fast this hapless person is losing ground.

Thomas F. Lee, Monterey