First, he criticized the Obama White House over reporting errors in the economic stimulus package. Now, Congressman Dave Obey has new warnings, on funding additional troops in Afghanistan.
“If the war is important enough to fight, then we ought to impose a war surtax on people who can afford it,” said the Wausau Democrat. “Because if we don’t, that $900 billion cost is going to eat into everything that we want to do to rebuild the economy here at home.” To pay for more troops in Afghanistan, Obey wants a graduated surtax on income. Tax increases would range from one percent for the lowest wage earners, to five percent for the most wealthy.
Obey, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, also doesn’t think additional troops in Afghanistan will solve the problems there. “It’s not that I think the policy is flawed, the policy may be perfectly appropriate,” Obey said. “The problem is, do you have the tools on the ground in the region to actually make any policy work? And I doubt very much that the government of Afghanistan is a tool that we can use at all, and I certainly think that the government of Pakistan has been less than useful.” President Obama is expected to announce a decision on Afghanistan next week.
Mike Warren reports (:60)AUDIO: Mike Warren reports (:60 MP3)
WDLB’s Mike Warren submitted this report