News / Brèves Back to previous selection / Retour à la sélection précédente US Representative Charles B. Rangel: Let’s Make War on Joblessness and Poverty Instead of Syria 11 September 2013 (LPAC)—Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) intervened into the raging debate over Syria by issuing a statement Sept. 6 suggesting that the United States should wage a war against joblessness, instead of a costly war against Syria. The crumbling President Obama will not be amused. "Today’s jobs report indicates the resiliency and progress being made by American businesses and American workers," Rangel said. "Yet if we are going to continue our economic recovery, we must not allow ourselves to become embroiled in a costly and intractable war in Syria. Now is the time to turn our focus away from involvement in overseas conflict and concentrate on continuing to improve the lives of American workers. "The cost of each Tomahawk missile used in a potential conflict with Syria, ranging from $607,000 to $1.4 million or more, could better be used right here at home. Right now, that money could be going towards helping the 50 million Americans living in food-insecure households and addressing the income inequality crisis we face today. If we are serious about continuing our economic progress, we must confront these problems head on, and not divert time and money into another war that will ultimately prove too costly to American taxpayers and damaging to our own national security. "I believe that we in Congress should come together to wage war not in Syria, but here in America, against poverty, joblessness, homelessness, income-inequality, and hunger when we find seven million U.S. households struggling to feed themselves. That is in our true best interest, and a war I would gladly support." [CJO]