Florida’s fighting Congressman Alan Grayson, who took on the Republican “death panel” misinformation campaign during the healthcare debate, wants to make the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq “real” to the U.S. news media and American public. He wants an honest accounting of the cost of the wars.

On May 21, the Democrat introduced the "War Is Making You Poor Act" (PDF copy) to eliminate "emergency funding" for those military operations. President Obama has requested $159B in such discretionary spending alongside the $549B proposed outlay for the Dept. of Defense.

Grayson believes the "endless war" scenario in Afghanistan and Iraq would quickly come to an end if the Pentagon had to fund the activity from its own budget. The Act provides an economic boost in the form of a tax credit. The bill would eliminate federal income tax in 2011 for those making $35K a-year and $70K for a married couple. The remaining $15.9B would be allocated for a one-shot debt reduction.

Grayson believes the Act is a way to 'connect the dots and show people in a real and concrete way the cost of these endless wars." He wrote: “What George Orwell wrote about in 1984 has come true. What Eisenhower warned us about concerning the “military-industrial complex” has come true. War is a permanent feature of our societal landscape, so much that no one notices anymore."

Grayson’s bill leaves plenty for funding the "war on terror." The Pentagon's $549B budget is more than the combined rest of the world spends for defense. Said Grayson: "If we are going to have that much military spending, do we really need another $159B for the wars on top of that. I think not, particularly when people in America are suffering?"

The good Congressman's district includes DisneyWorld, the land of make-believe.

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