War Doubling

I hang out in the elitist crowds who don't care as much as the rest of America about the war on terror, liberals and libertarians in big cities (ie the ones most likely to be bombed). There's a lot of fear that it's just a political power grab, and that this is an abstract concept like "the war on drugs" and not a real war.

Did you know the size of the government doubles every war? From the continental congress becoming something real in the Revolutionary War, our nascent government doubled in the war of 1812, again in the civil war, increased dramatically in WW1, and of course had huge expansion in WW2 (it'd be true for the Cold War if you counted that, but that's rather unfair to cover a 40 years period). We at least double in real dollars spent and people employed. Afterwards spending does not go down, and we never see government spending rise in peacetime anything like we do during wartime.

So, if you're a libertarian, please turn your focus to the war on terror more. And if you're a strong statist liberal or something, rest assured that this is just leading to more nanny-state than you ever desired.