File : 1270830976.jpg-(27 KB, 320x400, iraq-war_costs.jpg)
Anonymous 04/09/10(Fri)12:36 No.578713  

The Iraq war cost today is conservatively estimated at 1.05 trillion. The actual cost is likely double that given the amount loaned to the rebuilding efforts.

An analyst wrote a book (using the more conservative 1.05) called "What We Could Have Spent the Money On".

Some examples of how the money could have been spent:
• Pay off every American's credit card debt. And hey, still have a couple hundred billion left for a night on the town.
• Pay off those Bush tax cuts. Nope. But you could pay, er, pay the interest on their cost for about 10 years.
• A solar power build out big enough to generate enough energy for two-thirds of all American homes.
• $10,000 subsidy on hybrid cars, leading to 40% of the US auto fleet being hybrid, reducing gas by 56 billion gallons a year.
• Give every single American a full $600 makeover. Because aren't you all just stressed out dahllling?
• The World Sings As One! Stage 40,000 3 day music festivals each with 125 acts on 9 stages.
• Send 5 years worth of high school students to university, with fully paid tuition.
• Clean up and revitalize 667 rivers.
• Mass Transit! Create 6,667 miles of monorail or subway systems (about New York to Tokyo, or 60 miles in each major city).
• Pave every highway with 23.5-Karat gold leaf!

What would you have spent the money on, /news/