$American Treasure and the Iraq War$?

Question

I noticed the 5 year chart on the Dow Jones averages resembles a giant W formation. You can see it in the link below.
Is this George W. Bush leaving his mark on the market?
The lowest part in the W was because of all the corporate scandals going on at that time. Especially the Enron scandal. The second lowest part in the W formation was March 3, 2003. Coincidentally that was the time when Bush declared war on Iraq.

Was it the war that lifted stocks from their pre-war lows? If so, what will America have to do next to keep the stock market going up?

Viewed in these stark terms, would you prefer bigger gains in share prices or a declining market.

What is the true cost the nation and the world must pay for peace?

http://finance.yahoo.com/charts#chart2:symbol=^dji;range=5y;charttype=line;crosshair=on;logscale=on;source=undefined

Answer 1

Unlike other wars, this one did not help the stock market. It barely affected it at all. Only a select few companies hired or OWNED by the government have been supplying items for the war. If the government owns the businesses, that only means that it will be cheaper for them to make the supplies. The stock market will not improve because of that. The only way they can improve would be by increased spending in multiple market sectors. So, apparently, Bush's tax cuts have worked to revitalize the economy from the early 2000 scandals.

As for your 2nd question, who can really answer that? I personally believe that if you need to pay a lot for peace up front and solve the problem, rather than just spending a little and putting a band aid on the problem. Because eventually, the band aid will break.

Please vote for the best answer!