Sunday, February 25, 2007
Economics 101
In the left column you will find a counter that is doing an estimated cost of the war on Iraq. This is based on an algorithm that is creating an estimate in real time. Here are some facts about what this illegal, immoral war is costing.
Federal spending on the war and reconstruction
2001 & 2002: $2.5 billion
2003 $ 51 billion
2004 $ 77.3 billion
2005 $ 87.3 billion
2006 $100.4 billion
total of $318.5 billion
US funding of the Iraq National Congress
$ 38.6 billion
State departments "Future of Iraq Project" (which the white house pretty much ignored.)
$5 million
The survey group that failed to find weapons of mass destruction
$900 million
Cost of the Iraq study group
$1 million
Amount the Pentagon has requested to construct military bases in Iraq
$806 million
Amount Congress has budgeted for a "commemoration of success" for American Troops
$20 million (what would they budget if there was any chance of success???)
reconstruction to date has cost the US $34.1 billion. Rebuilding post war Germany cost $30.3 billion in 2006 dollars.
As macabre as this sounds, economists have estimated each life lost in the war to be worth $6 million the reality is
for each US Army private killed in action the US government compensates the family with $500,000 plus $40,000 annually.
for each American defense contractor killed on the job $102,000 annually
for each Iraqi family member killed by American missile up to $2500 per person.
The cost in life:
Remember now that there is potential for the US to be paying 2500 bucks per Iraqi civilian
70,100 to 601,000 Iraqi civilians are estimated dead as of January 2007.
US soldiers dead 3,021
Iraqi soldiers and police 5965
defense contractors 665
journalists 146
British soldiers 129
Other coalition soldiers 123
It is time to stop this war and close the coffers.
While we seem perfectly content to spend billions on an illegal and immoral war, we as a nation, seem unwilling to save an estimated $3.1 billion annually. How is that? Based upon the Congressional budget office, Williams Institute, $3.1 billion could be saved by legalizing gay marriage.
This is based upon the following stats
Same-sex couples marry and move into higher tax bracket, boosting federal taxes by $400 to $700 million
New gay households move up in income and are cut from programs such as medicaid resulting in savings of $50 to $200 million,.
Uninsured gays and lesbians whose health care is now paid for by the government join their spouses insurance plans .. If only 1/3 do this federal costs drop by $190 million
If half the same sex couples now living together get married (this is the rate seen in Vermont and Massachusetts) and spend a quarter of what straight couples do, it results in a wedding industry boon of $2 billion
Back to Iraq, corruption costs Iraq $4 billion annually. $8.8 billion the US gave to the Iraq government cannot be accounted for. More than 20% of the governments ministry are ghost employees.. that is they don't exist but they collect paychecks.
The true cost of this illegal and immoral war will not be known until it is halted and there is time to tally up the stats. I have not even mentioned the costs expected to treat the wounded .. just brain injuries which more than 4600 soldiers have suffered will be an estimated $19 billion to care for and treat them. Evacuating a single wounded soldier to the US can cost more than $1 million.
The amputation rate is twice that of any other war. More than 1300 soldiers have lost a limb. The rehabilitation costs could easily be over $200 million.
1 in 5 Iraqi vets suffer some form of post traumatic stress syndrome. A prosthetic limb can easily cost $100,000
The suicide rate of our soldiers in 2005 was double what it was in 2004, I have been unable to find how dramatic the rise has been since then.
44% of Gulf war vets have filed for disability benefits, a similar percentage is expected of the 1.4 million current soldiers. Long term medical care and benefits could cost $127 billion.
On the home front, the Pentagon has ordered the National Guard to transfer $1.76 billion worth of equipment to the Army. Transferring gear overseas has left domestic Guard units with 1/3 of their essential combat equipment. 7040 National Guardsmen were deployed to Vietnam, 126 died. More than 100,000 have served in Iraq so far, 392 have died. Deploying reservists in Iraq costs the US $4 billion in lost productivity annually.
Expecting Bush to ever do the right thing? Think again. Here is part of his stated stands on laws in force in this country.
Sabanes-Oxley act of 2002
The law said: Corporate whistle blowers giving information to government agencies or Congress will be protected from retaliation.
Bush said: Only whistle blowers who squeal directly to the congressman or a committee that is investigating the relevant issue will be protected. (Senator Grassley R-Iowa says this means the statue only applies to people who are lucky enough to find the one member of congress out of 535 who happens to be the chairman of the appropriate committee and who also happens to already be conducting an investigation even though the problem has not yet come to light.)
Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act 2006
The law said: Future FEMA administrators must have some background in disaster management and not less than 5 years of executive leadership and management experience.
Bush said: The statute rules out a large portion of those persons best qualified .. to fill the office and will be ignored.
US Patriot Improvement and Re authorization act 2005
The law said: The Justice Department's inspector general must investigate "any improper or illegal use" of expanded powers provided by the act, including the FBI's use of National Security Letters that force businesses to turn over sensitive customer information,
Bush said: He'll withhold any information whose release he deems harmful to "foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive's constitutional duties" In other words, any information that might be worth knowing.
Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2006
The law said: Detainees in US custody will not be subjected to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment"
Bush said: The administration will use whatever interrogation tactics it sees fit.
Department of Defense Appropriation Act of 2002
The law said: Congress will be briefed before launching a "special access" (read "black") program along the lines of the National Security Agency's surveillance efforts
Bush said: Special-access programs are non of Congress' business; he'll inform lawmakers when he chooses, "as a matter of comity."
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act 2004
the law said: First-class mail will be protected from warrant less searches.
Bush said: We don't need no stinking warrant to open your mail.
Hitler.. er... Bush is a clear and present danger to freedom and the American way. He continues to violate the laws of the land and pursue an unwinable war. Only with the impeachment and public trial for his war crimes can the United States hope to regain face with the rest of the world, and reclaim the freedoms that are the basis for our countries way of life.
Federal spending on the war and reconstruction
2001 & 2002: $2.5 billion
2003 $ 51 billion
2004 $ 77.3 billion
2005 $ 87.3 billion
2006 $100.4 billion
total of $318.5 billion
US funding of the Iraq National Congress
$ 38.6 billion
State departments "Future of Iraq Project" (which the white house pretty much ignored.)
$5 million
The survey group that failed to find weapons of mass destruction
$900 million
Cost of the Iraq study group
$1 million
Amount the Pentagon has requested to construct military bases in Iraq
$806 million
Amount Congress has budgeted for a "commemoration of success" for American Troops
$20 million (what would they budget if there was any chance of success???)
reconstruction to date has cost the US $34.1 billion. Rebuilding post war Germany cost $30.3 billion in 2006 dollars.
As macabre as this sounds, economists have estimated each life lost in the war to be worth $6 million the reality is
for each US Army private killed in action the US government compensates the family with $500,000 plus $40,000 annually.
for each American defense contractor killed on the job $102,000 annually
for each Iraqi family member killed by American missile up to $2500 per person.
The cost in life:
Remember now that there is potential for the US to be paying 2500 bucks per Iraqi civilian
70,100 to 601,000 Iraqi civilians are estimated dead as of January 2007.
US soldiers dead 3,021
Iraqi soldiers and police 5965
defense contractors 665
journalists 146
British soldiers 129
Other coalition soldiers 123
It is time to stop this war and close the coffers.
While we seem perfectly content to spend billions on an illegal and immoral war, we as a nation, seem unwilling to save an estimated $3.1 billion annually. How is that? Based upon the Congressional budget office, Williams Institute, $3.1 billion could be saved by legalizing gay marriage.
This is based upon the following stats
Same-sex couples marry and move into higher tax bracket, boosting federal taxes by $400 to $700 million
New gay households move up in income and are cut from programs such as medicaid resulting in savings of $50 to $200 million,.
Uninsured gays and lesbians whose health care is now paid for by the government join their spouses insurance plans .. If only 1/3 do this federal costs drop by $190 million
If half the same sex couples now living together get married (this is the rate seen in Vermont and Massachusetts) and spend a quarter of what straight couples do, it results in a wedding industry boon of $2 billion
Back to Iraq, corruption costs Iraq $4 billion annually. $8.8 billion the US gave to the Iraq government cannot be accounted for. More than 20% of the governments ministry are ghost employees.. that is they don't exist but they collect paychecks.
The true cost of this illegal and immoral war will not be known until it is halted and there is time to tally up the stats. I have not even mentioned the costs expected to treat the wounded .. just brain injuries which more than 4600 soldiers have suffered will be an estimated $19 billion to care for and treat them. Evacuating a single wounded soldier to the US can cost more than $1 million.
The amputation rate is twice that of any other war. More than 1300 soldiers have lost a limb. The rehabilitation costs could easily be over $200 million.
1 in 5 Iraqi vets suffer some form of post traumatic stress syndrome. A prosthetic limb can easily cost $100,000
The suicide rate of our soldiers in 2005 was double what it was in 2004, I have been unable to find how dramatic the rise has been since then.
44% of Gulf war vets have filed for disability benefits, a similar percentage is expected of the 1.4 million current soldiers. Long term medical care and benefits could cost $127 billion.
On the home front, the Pentagon has ordered the National Guard to transfer $1.76 billion worth of equipment to the Army. Transferring gear overseas has left domestic Guard units with 1/3 of their essential combat equipment. 7040 National Guardsmen were deployed to Vietnam, 126 died. More than 100,000 have served in Iraq so far, 392 have died. Deploying reservists in Iraq costs the US $4 billion in lost productivity annually.
Expecting Bush to ever do the right thing? Think again. Here is part of his stated stands on laws in force in this country.
Sabanes-Oxley act of 2002
The law said: Corporate whistle blowers giving information to government agencies or Congress will be protected from retaliation.
Bush said: Only whistle blowers who squeal directly to the congressman or a committee that is investigating the relevant issue will be protected. (Senator Grassley R-Iowa says this means the statue only applies to people who are lucky enough to find the one member of congress out of 535 who happens to be the chairman of the appropriate committee and who also happens to already be conducting an investigation even though the problem has not yet come to light.)
Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act 2006
The law said: Future FEMA administrators must have some background in disaster management and not less than 5 years of executive leadership and management experience.
Bush said: The statute rules out a large portion of those persons best qualified .. to fill the office and will be ignored.
US Patriot Improvement and Re authorization act 2005
The law said: The Justice Department's inspector general must investigate "any improper or illegal use" of expanded powers provided by the act, including the FBI's use of National Security Letters that force businesses to turn over sensitive customer information,
Bush said: He'll withhold any information whose release he deems harmful to "foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive's constitutional duties" In other words, any information that might be worth knowing.
Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2006
The law said: Detainees in US custody will not be subjected to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment"
Bush said: The administration will use whatever interrogation tactics it sees fit.
Department of Defense Appropriation Act of 2002
The law said: Congress will be briefed before launching a "special access" (read "black") program along the lines of the National Security Agency's surveillance efforts
Bush said: Special-access programs are non of Congress' business; he'll inform lawmakers when he chooses, "as a matter of comity."
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act 2004
the law said: First-class mail will be protected from warrant less searches.
Bush said: We don't need no stinking warrant to open your mail.
Hitler.. er... Bush is a clear and present danger to freedom and the American way. He continues to violate the laws of the land and pursue an unwinable war. Only with the impeachment and public trial for his war crimes can the United States hope to regain face with the rest of the world, and reclaim the freedoms that are the basis for our countries way of life.
