Why didn't the Bush Administration encourage bond purchasing after 9/11?

[King]

Everybody was so jammed up with patriotism at the time and with Afghanistan and Iraq looming, how come Bush didn't try and use his 90% approval ratings and rubber stamp on the government to fund at least part of the war the old fashioned way with "war bonds?"  He didn't even need Congressional approval.  All he really needed to do was give some big national speech telling people to go to their local banks or whatever and buy a $100 30-year Treasury bond or something.   I'm sure MILLIONS upon MILLIONS would've gone out and spent a couple of hundred to "protect America." I'm sure a lot of them had money anyway since nobody was luxury spending after 9/11 due to the fear of travel and there was a lot of money just sitting in savings.

As I said in the stock split thread, I don't know much about economics, but this is something that was on my mind.

[dead0man]

Now that sounds like a brilliant idea.  A couple of small problems would be that we're asking the next generation to pay for our battle and if, in 2008 you're against the war and sitting on $10,000 in US War Bonds you're going to feel like an asshole.  Like those guys driving SUV's with yellow ribbons and flags, now faded, like their patriotism.

But yeah, the idea is sound and would have made a killing for the govt, tax free and that's always a good thing.  War slot machines in every gas station wouldn't hurt either.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Or we could just pay for the war through progressive income taxes. 

[King]

Or we could just pay for the war through progressive income taxes. 

But that's not Republican.  At least with bonds, you are saying "the taxes are low!"

[cannonia]

I think the idea was to keep people spending their money normally to avoid a hit to the economy.  I agree that government should have encouraged military service and patriotic bond purchases.  It was a great opportunity.