The Real Price Of War

by Goldstein, Joshua S.

• ISBN13: 9780814731611
• ISBN10: 0814731619
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-08-15
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

View the target=_blank>Table of Contents. Read thetarget=_blank>Preface.An interesting book that raises many important questions--Journal of Peace ResearchComprehensive examination of the myriad costs of war.--ForecastA compact and cogent study. Goldstein makes a fine example of a nonideologue at work.--Publishers WeeklyGoldstein does an admirable job in breaking down current war costs and who we pay them.--Jewish Herald-VoiceGoldstein is not an economist but a political scientist who takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of war. Here he argues that the war on terrorism is much more expensive than we have been told and that we must spend now to win it quickly or we will pay far more in the future to do so. Recommended for all public libraries.--Library JournalForget the astronomical numbers you read about in the press --- $120 billion here, $87 billion there. Here''s how much the war is costing you personally. Goldstein, political scientist and scholar of war creates a crude but credible model for determining the cost of war per household in the United States.--The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionAn important book for all Americans about the real costs of the War on Terror. It asks the tough questions about who pays and gives us a better understanding of the war''s impact on our everyday lives.--General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATOThe Real Price of War ought to be required reading in the Kerry campaign and among all Americans who want their government to do the right thing. It is a timely book with far-reaching implications for every American.--David Moats, Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial WritingJoshua S. Goldstein''s argument is simple, powerfully argued, and persuasive: we have not spent enough to win the war on terror, and we cannot afford not to. For those who say we are already spending too much, he marshals an impressive range of historical evidence to prove that we are spending much less than we have on past wars. For those who say the status quo threat level is acceptable, he presents frightening scenarios to prove that it is not. The conclusions he draws are as convincing as they are dire.--Nisid Hajari, Managing Editor, Newsweek InternationalEngaging.--Kirkus ReviewsIn this engrossing and Cassandra-like book, the respected Professor Joshua Goldstein tells us, just as we need it most badly, of the true ''costs'' of war-and warns America of the new era that it has inaugurated in the world.--Georgie Anne Geyer, Syndicated Columnist, Universal Press Syndicate, and author of Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel CastroJoshua Goldstein has always written about big topics, and this is the biggest: If the war against terrorism is to be won-and it must be won-what will be the likely costs and how should they be allocated among the American people? He writes with passion, insight, evidence, and fundamental fairness on an issue that will shape all our lives.--Bruce Russett, Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Yale UniversityAre Americans in denial about the costs of the War on Terror? In The Real Price of War, Joshua S. Goldstein argues that we need to face up to what the war costs the average American--both in taxes and in changes to our way of life. Goldstein contends that in order to protect the United States from future attacks, we must fight--and win--the War on Terror. Yet even as President Bush campaigns on promises of national security, his administration is cutting taxes and increasing deficit spending, resulting in too little money to eradicate terrorism and a crippling burden of national debt for future generations to pay.The Real Price of War breaks down billion-dollar government expenditures into the prices individual Americans are paying through their taxes. Goldstein estimates that the average American household currently pays $500 each month to finance war. Beyond the dollars and cents that finance military operations

Author Biography

Joshua S. Goldstein is an associate of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction	1	(10)
Part I Government Spending
1 What Does War Cost?	11	(12)
2 Taxes	23	(15)
3 Budget Cuts	38	(19)
4 Debt	57	(18)
Part II Broader Economic Effects
5 Inflation	75	(13)
6 Business under Stress	88	(19)
7 Profit and Loss in Wartime	107	(20)
Part III Future Costs and How We Divide Them
8 The Price of Failure	127	(20)
9 A War without Sacrifice?	147	(15)
10 Sharing the Burden	162	(16)
11 Pay to Win	178	(25)
Notes	203	(18)
Acknowledgments	221	(2)
Index	223	(6)
About the Author	229