Hey--a good idea from Washington

Representative David Obey (D-WI) is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. On 19 November he released a letter calling for a graduated surtax to pay for the war in Afghanistan:

“For the last year, as we’ve struggled to pass healthcare reform, we’ve been told that we have to pay for the bill – and the cost over the next decade will be about a trillion dollars. Now the President is being asked to consider an enlarged counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan, which proponents tell us will take at least a decade and would also cost about a trillion dollars. But unlike the healthcare bill, that would not be paid for. We believe that’s wrong,” said Obey. “Regardless of whether one favors the war or not, if it is to be fought, it ought to be paid for.”

This sounds like a great idea to me. I don't think this legislation has a snowball's chance in hell of becoming law--hell, I'd be surprised if it even comes up for a vote, let alone passes, in the House. But it's nice to know that some of the Democratic leadership is willing to consider measures like this.