Thursday, August 6, 2009
Georgie Wilson's War
"These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world...and then we fucked up the end game." - Charlie Wilson's War
So far, the Iraq war has cost us $550 billion, by conservative estimates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_cost_of_the_Iraq_War
To put this in perspective, consider the following alternate use of our money:
Current Population of Iraq: 28 million
Annual cash flow of Iraqi war costs invested in 10-year Treasuries: $17.9 billion
Available cash flow per person: $639
At a glance, this sounds insignficant. But consider that the per capita GDP of Iraq is $3,700. A pro rata contribution to per capita in the U.S. would be $8,000.
Potential uses for each individual's funding:College tuition for every eligible studentInfrastructure spending
And....we get all of our money back in the "end game".
Damn.
NOTE: All facts are from U.S. government sources (CIA Factbook, etc) where possible.
So far, the Iraq war has cost us $550 billion, by conservative estimates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_cost_of_the_Iraq_War
To put this in perspective, consider the following alternate use of our money:
Current Population of Iraq: 28 million
Annual cash flow of Iraqi war costs invested in 10-year Treasuries: $17.9 billion
Available cash flow per person: $639
At a glance, this sounds insignficant. But consider that the per capita GDP of Iraq is $3,700. A pro rata contribution to per capita in the U.S. would be $8,000.
Potential uses for each individual's funding:College tuition for every eligible studentInfrastructure spending
And....we get all of our money back in the "end game".
Damn.
NOTE: All facts are from U.S. government sources (CIA Factbook, etc) where possible.
Labels: you got a kajillion dollars? we could help a lot of people
¶ 4:15 AM
