Miscellaneous

The True Cost of War

I found a fascinating article in the UK Guardian written by a Noble-prize winning economist about the cost of the Iraq war for America, and it's kind of mind boggling. He estimates that, all told, the war will cost America $3 trillion, and about the same for the rest of the world. Here's a taste of some of the more eye-popping figures:

$16bn The amount the US spends on the monthly running costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - on top of regular defence spending

$138 The amount paid by every US household every month towards the current operating costs of the war.

$19.3bn The amount Halliburton has received in single-source contracts for work in Iraq.

$25bn The annual cost to the US of the rising price of oil, itself a consequence of the war.

$5bn Cost of 10 days' fighting in Iraq.

$1 trillion The interest America will have paid by 2017 on the money borrowed to finance the war.

3% The average drop in income of 13 African countries - a direct result of the rise in oil prices. This drop has more than offset the recent increase in foreign aid to Africa.

The article then adds this, by way of context:

Stiglitz and Bilmes list what even one of these trillions could have paid for: 8 million housing units, or 15 million public school teachers, or healthcare for 530 million children for a year, or scholarships to university for 43 million students. Three trillion could have fixed America's social security problem for half a century.

Can you believe that? We could've funded 15 million school teachers for the cost of a meaningless war. But the number that pops out at me the most is that each family in America is spending $138 per month on the war effort -- I'm not a mathematician, but that is, like, about one percent of the average income earner's salary, right? And thanks to the Iraq war, that $138 would only be enough to fill your car tank full of gas twice a month.

Moreover, while the average soldier makes $40,000 a year, the average contracted security guard makes $400,000 a year in Iraq -- and because of high health insurance premiums, the government is picking up the tab on the contractor's health insurance, too.

George Bush has fucked us even more than I imagined. Anyway, do check out the article. It's eye opening, to say the least.

Full post as published by Quiz Law on February 28, 2008 (boomark / email).