LEAVE THEM A LOAN

James Joyner | Saturday, October 18, 2003

Matthew Stinson has some thoughts on why loaning money to Iraq makes bad economic sense and Senators who oppose grants are short-sighted. He also links good posts on the subject by Dean Esmay, Robert Prather, and David Brooks. Steven Taylor has an interesting argument as well.

I’m still somewhat on the fence on this one. Intellectually, I realize that $10 billion (which is now the disputed loan/grant amount) is a rounding error in the federal budget and see the practical and symbolic value of the grant. Viscerally, the “but they’re sitting on billions worth of oil” and “we could do a lot with $20 billion domestically” arguments are actually fairly compelling.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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