What $30,000 could have bought my child.

I have 3 kids under the age of ten, and like a lot of parents right now, I don't really understand what it means for each of them to "owe" $30,000 to the government.  Do they really have to pay that amount, as if the government's been running around with credit cards taken out in my kids' names?  Isn't that called identity theft?

But what really pisses me off is thinking about what that $30,000 could have bought.

$30,000 over 6 years means that each of my kids could have had $5000 spent on them each of the last six years as opposed to being stolen from them.  What could that annual $5000 bought for each of my kids?

It easily would have covered our medical expenses, without me ever having to worry about deductibles and co-pays, which I do.  So surely we can afford universal insurance for children in this country for $5000 each, but I'm not in the industry, so I could be wrong.  It would have easily covered my family, however, and there would be room left over for eyeglasses and orthodontia.  

And there would still be room left over for college tuition.  Just imagine that.

With $5000 per child per year to spend, there would be an excess that could go into the schools, into making sure every child grows up with a computer in his and her hands.  

At a very bare minimum, $5000 a year would lift each American child out of poverty, put food on the table, a roof overhead, and give dignity and hope.  

But no, that's money better spent in a war against a country  that was never even a threat, let alone an enemy.