Students on the Issues - The Economic and Political Effects of War, by Benny Hyman, 11th grade

The Economic and Political Effects of War
By Benny Hyman, 11^th grade
July 21 , 2005

* 2005 RMT Writing Contest Winner *

I believe that the most important event in my generation is the war in Iraq. This war affects American society as a whole—economically and politically. At its birth, it was one of the most unpopular wars in our nation’s history. In retrospect, WWI was relatively as unpopular as the war in Iraq. When modern historians analyze WWI, some say it was a good war to take part in, and others disagree. Whether historians 100 years from now look at Gulf War II as positive or negative is yet to be seen. Regardless of its outlook in the future, the ripple effect it causes throughout American and global society today makes it undeniably the most important event in my lifetime.

The political consequences of Gulf War II we see every day. Every night on CNN there is another debate about Bush’s exit plan (or lack thereof) or another “up and coming” senator discussing why he agrees or disagrees with the president’s new military strategy.

The 2004 election was so focused on the war that even the debate about domestic policy veered off several times into Iraq. Our current state as a nation is the most polarized it has been since Vietnam.

My generation has been exposed to two of the most uncommon elections in our history. The 2000 election compares to the election of 1877 when Rutherford B. Hayes was elected president due to crafty Southern republicans refusing to give Samuel J. Tilden (D) their electoral votes (which he deserved) and instead gave them to Hayes. Since the Democrats were largely based in the South and their postwar shame was still very much a part of their environs, the Republicans were able to shift the election.

In year 2000, one can argue that the Supreme Court used a similar mentality and voted too politically and that in the end the 4-5 votes for Bush were based too much on party affiliation rather the of the nation. The polarization of American is counterproductive and only a unified nation can truly serve its citizens and assist other nations in the betterment of their domestic conditions.

The economic impacts of the war are vast. At the beginning of his first term, George W. Bush had a surplus of 40 billion dollars in his budget; at the beginning of his second, a staggering deficit of 8 trillion and growing. The issue is not whether Bush was right or wrong in entering Iraq; we are fighting a war, and a national debt is to be expected. The issue is how we will pay off this debt once the war is over. Economists project that America will be well into the next century before the U.S.A. pays off it national debt, assuming there are no national incidents between the exit of America from Iraq and the time the debt is paid.

Another issue with the debt is that the majority is controlled by China. This is a key issue; however, it may not be as notable as the lack of funding for other federal programs, such as any public works or the elderly on social security and/or Medicare. There is already a “Hot-Button” debate on Bush’s new social security proposal, and whether the Medicare and/or the Social Security system fails by the time my generation is able to collect will be seen in the upcoming years.

The effects that the War in Iraq has are not limited to the problems with the war itself. They carry over into political disconnection as well as economic turmoil for an unknown number of years. My generation may collect social security by the time the debt is paid or it may not. Either way, the War in Iraq is by far the most important issue in my lifetime right now – whether it be the polarization of political parties or the rising national debt of the atrocity of war itself.

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