The Real Costs of War and Why it’s so Profitable

There are a lot of machines in our lives. Somewhere, out there, there are people who know how these machines work. They know the parts. They understand the schematics. Most of us, however, have no idea. The machine is there. When it works, we don’t think about it. The machine is only of concern when we have to fuel it up or fix it. Regardless, there are many machines in our lives, and they all carry a cost before they produce a benefit. The deciding factor between keeping the machine running and discarding it is the balance between the costs and benefits.

It’s times like these that we need to take a closer look at the costs associated with sustaining our obnoxiously huge war machine.¹ I mean, Americans spend a lot of money and resources on our military. We can debate whether that’s good or bad (For the Record, I’m on team “It’s Bad!”), but it is a fact. Furthermore, the money we spend on this War Machine, the less is available for other things that American citizens can use, such as universal health care, publicly funded tertiary education, upgrading our infrastructure, protecting our environment.

Instead, we spend money on the War Machine…and in paying the interest on the debt required to fund the War Machine without burdening the wealthy, many of whom are investors in the companies that sell the parts for the War Machine!

It’s time we take a look at how this machine works.

The War Machine is sustained by a great deal of sacrifice from ordinary American citizens, though it’s a silent sacrifice, extracted bit by bit, disconnected from other interests in such a way that we hardly notice. This sacrifice is extracted from two sources. The first is the direct sacrifice in seeing our tax dollars fund the War Machine rather than the stuff we want. The second is the price we pay to get the stuff we want through the private market that could otherwise have been paid for with our taxes. Want your kid to go to college? Well, the state could subsidize tertiary education to make it affordable, like we used to.² But, you know, we gotta fund this War Machine, so you’ll just have to take out tens of thousands of dollars in loans and pay for it yourself, placing the burden on your credit, or consigning your child to begin their adult life buried in debt.

Some shrug. There are those who like the War Machine³ and are willing to make the sacrifice. Some of us bristle at the idea.

But here’s the thing. The initial sacrifice, the budgetary allocation, is just the baseline of what it takes to keep this machine going, grinding up humanity.

When we actually use this War Machine, it costs us even more.

It’s like buying a car for $850 billion. That’s just the cost to get it off the lot. If you actually want to take it out for a spin, it’s going to cost you even more. You have to gas it up! You have to maintain it!

That’s the part that most people don’t really consider when they write the check for this monstrous War Machine. The budgetary allocation is just what’s required to run the department. That money doesn’t actually pay for our wars. Once we are at war, that’s supplemental.

Therefore, it’s no surprise when we see reports about the Pentagon requesting an additional $200 billion to fight our latest war…um…er…I mean “excursion.”⁴

This invoice should give us pause for a number of reasons. First, and foremost, estimates of the costs of destroying Iranian schools and hospitals⁵ average out to about $1 billion per day. That the Pentagon is asking for $200 billion reveals one of two things. First, the Administration is preparing for a long war. This is confusing because the Administration has declared that the war excursion is all but over. That is, except for the part that still needs to be completed…which will be wrapped up soon, unless it’s not, in which case… Yet the folks who are actually fighting the war are preparing for at least another two-hundred days’ worth of fighting.

The second alternative is that the Pentagon is lying and just wants the extra money to throw a massive clam bake or something. I wish this last sentence were satirical. It’s not! We all remember Secretary Hegseth’s spending spree last year to the tune of $93 billion. That’s almost half of what the Pentagon is currently asking. It’s also enough to have extended ACA premium subsidies for three years. I guess poor people can just figure out how to pay for their own dialysis. The “Warrior Class” needs its surf and turf if it is to remain a vital, combat ready fighting force.

Now, the first option is the most likely. However, we cannot rule out the influence of the second. We must keep in front of mind the documented fact that fiscally, the Keeper of the War Machine is the WORST Period RUN Period DEPARTMENT Period in the whole damn government PERIOD. This is not an exaggeration. As of December of last year, the DoD has a perfect record of failing every single government mandated audit to the point where auditors admit, “We cannot determine the true amount [of unaccounted for funds] because the records are insufficient to audit.”⁶

Is there another department in this nation’s government, in any state government, in any government in any advanced nation in the history of the world, that can say it has lost almost forty percent of its assets despite being the highest funded department, and the only department to consistently get a budget increase every year, then has the audacity to come back and say, “heeeeeeyyyyy, so…we need a supplement equal to over twenty percent of our total budget…for now…we’ll let you know when we need more.” I mean, maybe the Emperor Caracalla can compete with this level of raw mendacity, but…⁷

Then there’s the corrupt mechanics of this process of funding “military excursions.” According to the Treasury Department, the United States is currently running a deficit of over a trillion dollars. So, where is that extra money going to come from? I mean, we ask this whenever we want money for health care, or education. It’s not unreasonable to ask the same question when it comes to incinerating large populations.

This is where that ball of rage really starts to steam.

You see, the folks we give tax breaks to. Disproportionately, they are the ones who will pay for the extra bomb money. Except they don’t do it like we do it, by paying taxes. No. This is the scam. They buy treasury bonds to fund our debt. We then use the money they loaned us to pay companies that they own to purchase bombs, guns, missiles, and lobster tail. They benefit from the increased dividends. They also benefit from the interest we pay them on the bonds they hold.

The rest of us are left holding all the invoices, paying the interest on the debt that goes to the folks who will invariably get their taxes cut again next year. In the meantime, there’s just not enough money for the actual stuff we want and need.

And the War Machine cycles on, incinerating folks we are told are the “enemy” even though they have never actually attacked us, they could one day, so we have to blow up their schools and hospitals. The War Machine cycles on, incinerating money that could be used to provide a better life for everyone. The War Machine cycles on, vomiting limitless dividends and investment opportunities to the Epstein Class.

Because that’s what the War Machine was built to do.

That’s why I propose a new law. The Paying for Your Fucking War Machine Act. This law will mandate that, upon going to war or even entering into an “excursion,” the immediate conscription of all age eligible children and/or grandchildren of every legislator of who voted in favor of or refused to participate in a vote on said action. Secondly, an immediate tax increase on anyone or any corporation with a before tax and pre-deduction income of over $100 million, increasing incrementally from 10% to 100% every month for the duration of the action. Thirdly, an additional 100% tax on all investments held by individuals and companies that increases as a direct result of this military action.

If we really need to use this monstrous War Machine, then the keepers of this War Machine—the real keepers—should be more than happy to pay the cost of doing so. The system as designed creates a moral hazard by which the Epstein class profits handsomely from the entering into risks the rest of us are forced to pay. If blowing up hospitals and schools is so important, so imperative, let’s make sure that the Keepers of the Machine have real skin in the game.

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Shameless Self Promotion

Like millions of immigrant Americans, Dominico Rossa signed on to participate in the War Machine that ground an entire generation during World War I. Read about his evolution from an Italian provincial into an American in my novel, Stone is not Forever.

1. Oh yes! Ima extend the shit outta this metaphor! ↩︎
2. I would point out that many other advanced countries do exactly that. It’s a hugely liberating investment. ↩︎
3. Of course, one can simply become part of the War Macine and get access to tertiary education, or health care…and even status. That’s how you know we are living in a Militarist Society, when the Military constitutes a special class offered special access to status, and resources. ↩︎
4. A $200,000,000,000 Excersion! I’ve been on some excursions in my time, but… ↩︎
5. And some military targets, to be fair. ↩︎
6. They hope to actually pass one of these things in 2028. That’s a fine goal. ↩︎
7. I would point out that the Emperor Caracalla’s military policy didn’t work out so well. ↩︎