Tax the Rich to Pay For Troops?
In an interview for Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al Hunt," the senator suggests funding additional troops with an "additional income tax to the upper brackets, folks earning more than $200,000 or $250,000."
"They have done incredibly well, and I think that it's important that we pay for it if we possibly can," Levin said, according to Bloomberg. He also called for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to provide half of the new soldiers sent to Afghanistan.
White House Budget Director Peter Orszag has put the cost of each additional troop at $1 million.
President Obama is expected to announce his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the coming weeks, following a protracted deliberation.
The top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has reportedly requested 40,000 new troops to be added to the roughly 70,000 U.S. troops (and 40,000 troops from other countries) there now.