Funds used for war could aid folks here

Mary Raiford / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: February 22, 2008

I have been worried for some time that our country's economic future is looking very bleak.

Articles in the local newspaper and stories on the national news speak of so many Americans losing their homes, the cost of gas being ridiculously high, college tuitions continuing to rise out of reach for some of our brightest students, health care costs increasing and the numbers of uninsured  steadily growing.

I could go on and on about all of the frightening money woes we are facing as Americans.

It seems that we're either in a recession or teetering on the edge of one, not that the word itself matters - recession, that is - as things are just plain bad right now.

We read of state and local budget cuts that actually affect the basic services that working families need and depend on.
Why is this happening-

Could it have something to do with the fact that we are spending more than $338 million a day to fund the war in Iraq-

Just think of what we could do with that kind of money, right here at home!

With that money, we could offer affordable housing and health care and quality education for Americans. With that money, we could even offer more in the way of grants and scholarships for college students. Why should children in our great country go hungry or lack the medical care that they need when we can borrow somewhere around $340 million, each and every day, to fund this war-

Why should Americans lose their homes, or our elderly be forced to choose between paying their heating bills or getting their prescriptions filled-

When will our priorities change-

When we, as Americans, decide we've had enough.