Bearing the Cost of War (Foreign Affairs)

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President Emeritus James Wright argues that the costs of war should be shared across American society. (photo by Joe Mehling ’69)

In an opinion piece for Foreign Affairs magazine, President Emeritus James Wright says, “Congress should consider enacting a wartime surtax, as it has done for nearly all past U.S. wars.”

Wright, who is also the Eleazar Wheelock Professor of History, continues, “The current arrangement is unfortunate, since it means that the vast majority of Americans share none of the costs of war; instead, the burden is shouldered almost exclusively by the men and women fighting the wars and their families.”

Read the full story, published on 08/08/11.

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