Death and taxes

WITH THE U.S. death toll in the Iraq war eclipsing 2,000, at least two editorial boards today ask the sobering question: Is it worth it?

The Washington Post takes a look back at a murderous, deposed despot on trial, successful elections and Iraqis “grateful for their liberation” to concede that at the very least, 2,000 Americans have not died for a lost cause. But, while sacrifices have lead to meaningful advances, the Post says, President Bush hasn’t been upfront about why soldiers will have to continue their sacrifices, given that the original reasons for going to war aren’t exactly why we are fighting in Iraq now.

Similarly, USA Today wants leaders to more “candidly discuss” the war. The paper’s editorial echoes Bush’s comments Tuesday--that the war will require more time, more money and more lives.

Elsewhere, both the New York Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution write that recommendations in a report by Bush’s tax reform panel to simplify U.S. tax laws are untenable because the federal government simply doesn’t have enough money. The Times says the report’s fatal flaw is Bush’s insistence that the panel assume that his tax cuts, set to expire in a few years, will be permanent, drastically cutting the government’s revenue. The Journal-Constitution likes the panel’s idea of reigning in a few tax breaks (including the mortgage interest deduction), saying, “All that’s needed is the resolve to reclaim some of the lost tax revenue.”

But 2006 is a midterm election year; it’s doubtful Congress will find the “resolve” to vote away popular tax breaks.

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Paul Thornton