The Cost of War
Lately, President Bush has been admonishing Congress, asking them to curtail spending.
Medicare and Medicaid are the prime targets, with Social Security benefits next in line; but many other budget cuts are creeping up, in a way that will affect our everyday lives for generations to come.
Meanwhile, we are spending $720 Million a day to fight a war that is becoming harder and harder to justify. This price tag is an issue that is seldom addressed by the major media.
In 2006, Nobel prize winner in economics Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard professor of public finance Linda Bilmes presented a paper that unveiled some shocking figures about the cost of the war. The study includes not only the official year-to-year budget requests, but also the hidden costs, such as medical care for the injured veterans.
This study did bring some press coverage, however it still remains far from gaining the momentum that it should.
American Friends Service Committee is now starting a campaign with an interesting twist: comparing the cost of war to the cost of national projects that would have benefited us directly and that we are badly in need of.
Below are links to the AFSC campaign, and also other articles on the issue.
The last two links, just as food for thought, are about the most recent study by the Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development on the science performance of 15-year-olds around the world. See how we rank.
War billions could have done so much good.
An article by Arnie Alpert, the New Hampshire coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee. It’s a good overview of the issue.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071123/OPINIO...
Cost of War AFSC campaign.
http://www.afsc.org/cost/default.htm
Cost of War banners:
Part of the AGSC project, these 10 banners are definitely attention-getters.
http://www.afsc.org/cost/banners.htm
Iraq War Sticker Shock.
An interview of economist Joseph Stiglitz on Mother Jones.
http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2007/03/joseph_stiglitz.html
The War in Iraq Costs.
The clock that keeps up with war costs., by National Priorities.
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.html
The New York Times.
What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/business/17leonhardt.html?_r=1&oref=sl...
Washington Post: What Does Iraq Cost? Even More Than You Think.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/16/AR200711...
If you have some time to read it, here an excellent study by the bi-partisan Congressional Research Service:
The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global
War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
An interesting graph by proponents of solar energy.
Do as suggested and scroll down! It’s staggering.
http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/solar-trends/a-sick-graph-2/
Finland takes number one spot in OECD's latest PISA survey, advance figures show.
http://www.oecd.org/document/60/0,3343,en_2649_201185_39700732_1_1_1_1,0...
Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf
