--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In every major war we have fought in the…" description: "\"In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries. Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes - and nonessential programs have been c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/robert-hormats-43958_20th-century_in-every-major-war-we-have-fought-in-the_2500495.jpg" --- # In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th… ![“In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries. Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes - and nonessential programs have been cut - to support the military effort. Yet during this Iraq war, taxes have been lowered and domestic spending has climbed. In contrast to World War…” quote by Robert Hormats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/robert-hormats-43958_20th-century_in-every-major-war-we-have-fought-in-the_2500495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/robert-hormats-43958_20th-century_in-every-major-war-we-have-fought-in-the_2500495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/robert-hormats-43958_20th-century_in-every-major-war-we-have-fought-in-the_2500495.jpg) > “In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries. Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes - and nonessential programs have been cut - to support the military effort. Yet during this Iraq war, taxes have been lowered and domestic spending has climbed. In contrast to World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, for most Americans this conflict has entailed no economic sacrifice. The only people really sacrificing for this war are the troops and their families.” [Robert Hormats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hormats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War often imposes financial burdens on citizens, yet recent conflicts have shifted costs onto the military and families. **In simple terms:** Modern wars cost soldiers, not taxpayers. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden war costs. Themes taxes war economics Mood critical reflective Type analytical political When to use this quote - budget planning - public debate - voter education - media analysis Key Concepts public policy military spending Questions to Reflect On - How should societies fund wars? - What are the long‑term economic impacts? A Different Perspective Some argue that reduced taxes stimulate the economy despite war spending. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Iraq war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq-war/) [Korean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korean/) [Korean war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korean-war/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Troops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troops/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [The world starts to exist, for Americans, when we are in conflict with a place. And then all of a sudden, Afghanistan pops up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-world-starts-to-exist-for-americans-when-we-are-in-conflict-with/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [The nation that would to-day disarm its soldiers and turn its people to the paths of peace would accomplish more to its building up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/the-nation-that-would-to-day-disarm-its-soldiers-and-turn-its-people/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“Thus we lived through a major war. The questions in the ghettos was, can we make it through a minor peace?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/thus-we-lived-through-a-major-war-the-questions-in-the-ghettos-was/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [It's odd being an American now. 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Because we get a lot of practice. This country is only 200 years old, and already we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/you-know-why-we-re-good-at-it-because-we-get-a-lot-of-practice-this/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Despite the war, and bombings, and all the big things that happen to us, the stuff of our lives is small and always will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dessaix/despite-the-war-and-bombings-and-all-the-big-things-that-happen-to-us/) [Robert Dessaix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dessaix/) > [“The achievement of this goal will require a major war, a world war, starting most likely from the impending US-Israel attack on Iran. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/the-achievement-of-this-goal-will-require-a-major-war-a-world-war/) [Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/) > [Neither our oceans nor our radar nor our fighters can keep us intact through another major war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-morrison/neither-our-oceans-nor-our-radar-nor-our-fighters-can-keep-us-intact/) [Philip Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-morrison/) > [I think it's going to be remembered as the last major war on planet Earth, if we're lucky, if we maintain our foreign policy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/i-think-it-s-going-to-be-remembered-as-the-last-major-war-on-planet/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Virtually every war fought since the Act of Union had gone badly at some stage, but before 1783 none had ended in defeat. Nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/virtually-every-war-fought-since-the-act-of-union-had-gone-badly-at/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [“Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And if you wanted to create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-the-hermit-kingdom-for-its/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I'm sure the most favorite airplane in my career would still be the Sabre F86 cleft wing , which allowed me to be credited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/i-m-sure-the-most-favorite-airplane-in-my-career-would-still-be-the/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) ## More by Robert Hormats > [Booming cities, and the provinces and states in which they are located, are driving forces in economic growth today. Consequently, they constitute the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hormats/booming-cities-and-the-provinces-and-states-in-which-they-are-located/) [Robert Hormats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hormats/) > [As the world's 'most dynamic' cities seek to manage their own urban growth, American state and local officials have much to offer. Our mayors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hormats/as-the-world-s-most-dynamic-cities-seek-to-manage-their-own-urban/) [Robert Hormats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hormats/) > [Drug and human traffic are getting a lot more attention than illicit wildlife trafficking. And just as we need to intensify our efforts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hormats/drug-and-human-traffic-are-getting-a-lot-more-attention-than-illicit/) [Robert Hormats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hormats/) > [The United States is still an enormous generator of innovation, from which other nations have long benefitted. 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Great innovators - Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hormats/americans-understand-that-one-of-our-great-national-strengths-is/) [Robert Hormats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hormats/) [Explore all 9 Robert Hormats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hormats/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. 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Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries. Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes - and nonessential programs have been cut - to support the military effort. Yet during this Iraq war, taxes have been lowered and domestic spending has climbed. In contrast to World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, for most Americans this conflict has entailed no economic sacrifice. 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