Opportunity cost of the war on terror

Posted on Sep 23, 2007 by CHESSNOID in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

It is hard to understand that crazy number in the box below, but that is to be funded all by tax money. It doesn’t matter if you and I both feel strongly against it, it is done and Congress continues to ignore the wishes of the majority of the American people. We have many problems in the United States just like many other countries in the world such as homelessness, hunger, disease, social security funding, economic disaster, housing bust, etc. The difference is we have an abundance of resources. The president and congress decided upon themselves to spend our tax dollars that will see no return. This is not a donation that will help the needy. It is a burden that future generations will feel.The money above could be spent on solving domestic issues at home. To put it in terms we can understand, the war is costing us $720 million dollars a day. That works out to be $500,000.00 a minute. We could have spent that money differently. In one day, we could have:

**funded 34,904 Four year scholarships for university students**

**purchased 6,482 homes for families free and clear**

**provided healthcare for 423,529 children**

**built 84 new elementary schools**

**hired 12,748 elementary school teachers**

We have a lot of problems in the United States that could be solved if the money we pay in taxes were spent wisely. It doesn’t matter what party you belong to, the numbers can’t be disputed.

First 9/11 prompted us to find non-existent weapons of mass destruction. We should have pulled out when this was confirmed to be false.

Then we said the Iraqi people will embrace us and want democracy. This is definitely not true based on the 3,800 soldiers killed and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since we invaded. There is no reason for the US to be in Iraq. There never was a legitimate reason. That money being spent for war funding is just being spent on military contractors (WAR PROFITEERS) charging us 10 to 20 times the cost of items.

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6 Comments

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YC, September 23, 2007:

It is all about the man himself and nothing about the people. I personally think the war smacks of something similar to a past world war, but hidden behind a shield of helping to ensure world peace.

YC’s last blog post..An Extreme Weekend
CHESSNOID, September 23, 2007:

Hi YC,
thanks again for the insight. Do people in your country really follow the US news about our invasion? Also, how do most people look at our current government in action? I appreciate your perspective.
YC, September 23, 2007:

Definitely the people here follow the US news. It is essential for us to follow not just that, but the global news, because it contributes to our survival (to put it crudely). All the right sounds are being made with regards to how most of my govt and countrymen view the US govt’s action, but again that is due in part to many factors (e.g. being trade partners; constantly subjected to US favoured media; and basically being brought up in a country where we have only ever had 1 political party). While some of my views on establishing peace and harmony might be naive, I firmly believe that it never solves anything when you use force, provocation or lies.

Btw, another reason why the US invasion is on the news here is because we have a strong Muslim community in Singapore.

YC’s last blog post..7 Reasons Why I Hate StumbleUpon
CHESSNOID, September 23, 2007:

Hey YC, those are really good insights. I never realized how much other countries depended on the US. What you say makes sense. I really would love world peace, but I think the leaders here are having the opposite effect on the world. They are blinded by their own brilliance or BS. lol. I believe it is the latter.
CodePoet, September 24, 2007:

This is so frustrating. I would spend that money in a minute if I felt it would actually get us OR Iraq anywhere, but it isn’t. Now we’re being told we have to be in it for the long haul? What will the total war bill be then?

I’m fiscally conservative and liberal on social issues. I can’t reconcile Republicans’ complaints about Democrat overspending with a war bill this high. We turned a blind eye to Darfur and Somalia, and we’re in Iraq why?
CHESSNOID, September 24, 2007:

Hi CodePoet,
Thanks for your comment. I share your frustration. I usually would rather post about other things but this stuff I see everyday on TV. It is kind of in my face all the time now. We just need to leave. It really is that simple. Yes, we did turn a blind eye because there is no oil or other economic interests for the US. sigh.