The Spoils of War

            Is it just me, or does it seem like war is the principal force that perpetuates whatever is being warred upon.  Take WW I, the “War to end all wars.”  It didn’t.  The treatment of the vanquished was so harsh, that combined with economic hard times, and of course bankers, it gave birth to WW II. 

            How about the War on Poverty?  We have spent $20+ trillion subsidizing Americans’ cheapskate employers, but the “market poverty” rate (calculated without government tax credits or other benefits) went from 26 or 27% in 1967 to 28.7% in 2012.  The greed of employers, the omissions and commissions of Congress, and of course bankers, have perpetuated and grown poverty.

            The War on Drugs?  Does ANYBODY really believe that is working?  The lure of fantastic profits, caused partly by the fruitful illegality of drugs, and of course bankers, has made illicit drug trafficking a growth industry.  Didn’t anybody remember Prohibition?

            World War II defeated an inhuman cadre of criminals.  Like many of America’s wars, it was necessary.  Mostly, today’s inhuman criminals (now there are more of them) have to be more circumspect.  Meanwhile breathtaking worldwide poverty, and the lunacy of empire, give them ample targets and recruits.

            The War on Terror?  Ask yourself how THAT’S going.  Terrorism, because of zealots, inhuman criminal manipulators, widespread poverty, and of course bankers, is thriving.

            Around here, we think the real spoils of war are the humane things we don’t do, to combat the causes of human suffering.  War spoils that.