From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Iraq's Reconstruction. Who should pay?

Hello again, I'm Arminolny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

The high price of oil has Iraq rolling in money, but much of that new wealth stays in foreign bank accounts,

while the U.S. rebuilds the country.

Americans are paying six times more than Iraqis for roads, schools, and power plants,

as well as the refineries and pipelines for oil production.

On to the point, with a sagging economy,

how long could the U.S. afford that kind of money?

Why isn't it more effective?

Will Iraq's oil wealth mean future profits for private investors?

We'll talk with an American entrepreneur

who's building power plants and amusement parks.

On reporter's notebook later on,

the Summer Olympics beyond Michael Phelps.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D.

and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. Nobody doubts the U.S. has a responsibility to help rebuild Iraq.

But U.S. taxpayers are paying six times more than Iraqis, while Iraq banks new wealth from rising oil prices.

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