Wednesday January 10, 2007 What did you expect?

Put the following excerpts together and it appears we have unlimited funds for war, but not for education or healthcare. Does this make sense? I guess I'm just a bit disappointed in our leaders at this point.


WASHINGTON - The cost of putting each U.S. military service member in the Iraq war zone approached a record-high $400,000 by the end of 2005 and is continuing to rise sharply, according to a government study.
The figure, which did not include basic pay, means the Iraq war is costing more per fighter than any other U.S. war, according to experts.
------
WASHINGTON (AP) - Unswayed by anti-war passions, President Bush will send 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq and build the American presence there toward its highest level to quell worsening bloodshed. The move puts Bush on a collision course with the new Democratic Congress and runs counter to advice from some senior generals.
Bush's blueprint would boost the number of U.S. troops in Iraq - now at 132,000 - to 153,500 at a cost of $5.6 billion. The highest number was 160,000 a year ago in a troop buildup for Iraqi elections.
-----
President Bush pushed for renewal of the No Child Left Behind education law Monday in a meeting with congressional leaders but was noncommittal on their request for more money to help schools meet the law's requirements.
The administration and Republican lawmakers have underfunded the law by about $50 billion, compared to what was originally called for. Republicans say it is common practice for legislation to be funded at less than the full level.
-----
Bush would provide tax credits to help people purchase insurance on the open market. The main problem with Bush's plan is that his tax credits would not pay for much of a health insurance package. The average cost for health insurance in the U.S. is approximately $5,000 a year for a family of four, not $2,000, which is all that the Bush tax credit would provide. A family purchasing $2,000 worth of health insurance would have to settle for a policy that denied coverage for many basic services or that charged high additional amounts in deductibles and co-payments, which the family could not afford.