Effects of War

During every previous war in American history, presidents demanded sacrifices from the rich and the poor. As Robert Hormat explains in his 2007 book, The price of Liberty : Paying for America's War.

"During most of America's wars, parochial desires--such as tax breaks for favored groups or generous spending for influential constituencies--have been sacrificed to the greater good. The president and both parties in Congress have come together … to cut nonessential spending and increase taxes."

An example of this act happening was in World War 2, federal revenues tripled as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the number of people paying income taxes expanded tenfold, from 3% of the population in 1939 to 30% by 1943.

In 1950 and 1951 Congress increased taxes by close to 4% of GDP to pay for the Korean War, even though the high World War II tax rates were still largely in effect. In 1968, a 10% surtax was imposed to pay for the Vietnam War, which raised revenue by about 1% of GDP. And there was conscription during both wars, which can be viewed as a kind of tax that was largely paid by the poor and middle class. Young men from wealthy families largely escaped its effects through college deferments.

War really affected the people. Some people didn't even accept the idea of war, but they still had to pay taxes. They struggled to keep up with the taxes. Some young Americans didn't even get the chance to go to university because they didn't have enough money. The government kept raising taxes more and more with every war.