What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy – NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/business/17leonhardt.html?em&ex=1169182800&en=823fac5b990e2729&ei=5087%0A

WAR! Huh! What is it good for? Well, crushing debt and very little return, it seems. Here’s a short but stunning NY Times piece on what the funds channelled into the Iraq War trough could otherwise be financing.

Whatever number you use for the war’s total cost, it will tower over costs that normally seem prohibitive. Right now, including everything, the war is costing about $200 billion a year.

Treating heart disease and diabetes, by contrast, would probably cost about $50 billion a year. The remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations – held up in Congress partly because of their cost – might cost somewhat less. Universal preschool would be $35 billion. In Afghanistan, $10 billion could make a real difference. At the National Cancer Institute, annual budget is about $6 billion.

This entry was posted in economics and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.