1112169 
Book The price of liberty : paying for America's wars / Robert D. Hormats.
Publication year: 2007.
Language: English
Call Number HJ8101 .H56 2007
Media class: Book
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: New York : Times Books
ISBN: 9780805082531 0805082530 9780805087239
Extent: xxi, 344 p. ; 25 cm.
Description:
More than two centuries ago, America's first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, identified the Revolutionary War debt as a threat to the nation's creditworthiness and its very existence. In response, he established financial principles for securing the country -- principles that endure to this day. In this provocative history, Robert D. Hormats, one of America's leading experts on international finance, shows how leaders from Madison and Lincoln to FDR and Reagan have followed Hamilton's ideals, from the greenback and a progressive income tax to the Victory Bond and Victory Garden campaigns and cost-sharing with allies. Drawing on these historical lessons, Hormats argues that the rampant borrowing to pay for the war in Iraq and the short-sighted tax cuts in the face of a long-term war on terrorism run counter to American tradition and place our country's security in peril. To meet the threats facing us, Hormats contends, we must significantly realign our economic policies -- on taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and oil dependency -- to safeguard our liberty and our future.
Introduction : a country born of war and debt -- Hamilton's vision -- securing the nation's finances -- The first great test : financial sabotage and the War of 1812 -- The fiery trial : a tax to save the union -- Capitalizing patriotism : progressive finance during World War I -- A righteous might : shared sacrifice during World War II -- "A prolonged and complex struggle" : the threat of American bankruptcy in the Cold War -- "Hard and inescapable facts" : the great society versus the Vietnam War -- Bankrupting communism : the Reagan rearmament and deficit finance -- New enemies : asymmetrical threats and the long war on terrorism -- Conclusion : the price of a long war.
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