What effects has the Iraq war had on the U.S. economy?
Very little. The cost of the war is insignificant when compared to the size of our economy. For example – the decline in home values alone over the past year is 10x the total costs of the entire war. Another thing to remember is that many of these ‘war costs’ are actually the replacement of obsolete military equipment. For example – in 2003 nearly the entire US Army fleet of wheeled vehicles was nearing the end of their service lives. Even our rifles were 20 years old! Much of what we are doing now is making up for the budget cuts of the 1990s.
