Thursday, September 18, 2008

It Matters: Iraqi Oil Surplus and U.S. Deficit

At the very last minutes of class, Mr. Allen made a statement which had me startled for the upcoming hours after school. Mr. Allen noted that even though Iraq was in the middle of the war with the U.S. they are still making a lot of money. $79 billion to be exact. I was astonished to hear this because to me, it seemed like Iraq was far worser off than the U.S. When I arrived home, I decided to do a little reasearch on this matter to see if the numbers were correct because it was just to unbelievable to believe. I came upon the site, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23578542/ and realized, that to my astonshiment the numbers were absolutely correct. Iraq achieved a mind boggling $79 billion surplus. Most of this surplus came from oil porduction, but I was also angered to see that some of that money was coming from the taxpayers' pockets. I felt betrayed. How could our government give our money to Iraq when we (U.S.) are in a $500 billion deficit? Well, it's not actually my money since I'm not paying taxes but I do feel bad for the people who are having to pay taxes to support this "criminal activity". However all things are not bad and infuriating. I realized that with the money, Iraq is becoming a more stable country. Furthermore, the overall state of the country is improving. Schools are being built, people are building streets, food is prevalent in most cities and the people of Iraq are beginning to live a better lifestyle. I hope for the best for the people in Iraq because they have truly went through a lot of trials and tribulations. All in all, although I feel cheated that the governemnt is taking taxpayers' money I feel good that they are actually using it for a good cause.

The site that I used to research the topic at hand was:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23578542/

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