Iran war is costing the average family $360 in federal income taxes
Al Widner sent this commentary to the Morning Star local weekly paper. Morning Star covers the Concord area. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight his comments to our membership. Widner lays out the numbers for us to understand the fiscal cliff Trump is pushing us over. Please read this unedited copy of his letter to the Morning Star. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Fifteen months into President Trump’s second term provides an opportunity to evaluate his administration’s performance. Trump is currently polling between 33% and 37%, which is at an all-time low for his second term.
The biggest and perhaps most costly disappointment is Trump breaking his campaign promise that he was going to be a “peace” president and would keep America out of forever wars in the middle east. On February 28, 2026 Trump and Israel bombed Iran and started an unauthorized war that Congress did not approve and the vast majority of American citizens oppose. A recent NBC poll shows 63% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s overall performance and 67% disapprove of his handling of the Iran war.
The 2026 fiscal year budget is already projecting a 1.9 billion-dollar shortfall and now Trump is requesting a supplemental of $80 billion to cover the additional cost for the Iran war. The financial implications of this unapproved, unconstitutional war with Iran have increased the current affordability concerns of the middle class and working poor who are already struggling to meet basic necessities.
The Iran war and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted the global oil supply leading to world-wide surging gas prices. Specifically, our gas prices went up a dollar a gallon. This increase will result in an additional annual cost of $650 per family based on the national average of 27,000 miles driven per family and getting 20 mpg.
The pending $80 billion supplemental request for the 2026 fiscal year budget will end up costing the average family $360 in federal income taxes to cover the additional war expenditures.
Jet fuel prices have increased immensely causing airlines to revive fuel surcharges and raise baggage fees, making air travel significantly more expensive. Additionally, the U.S. Postal Service has proposed a temporary 8% surcharge on shipping services due to rising fuel costs. Fertilizer prices have jumped by over 25% threatening to increase food production costs.
Based on the above, I join the 63% of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s over-all performance and the 67% who disapprove of his handling of the Iran War.
Al Widner
Concord