- In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years
- By 2017, it is projected to cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion
- Interest on money borrowed to pay those costs could alone add $816 billion to that bottom line
- These numbers don't include the war's cost to the rest of the world
- Estimating all economic and social costs might push the U.S. war bill up toward $5 trillion by 2017
- These calculations are conservative and don't encompass many "hidden" items in the U.S. budget
Check my math because I'm not great at these things but, assuming out of the 300M people in the U.S. that 80% are footing the bill for this through their taxes (i.e., 240M), does that mean that each person is spending roughly $50/month today (or $600/year) and that figure will rise to over $11K annually per capita in a decade (in today's dollars)? Please point out my error and tell me that I'm wrong.
Is this a good reason to strive to earn more so that the hit to my wallet doesn't seem that gigantic or a stronger incentive to earn significantly less (i.e., live off the government and lower my taxes) so that I don't have to personally fund this colossal nightmare?
5 comments:
Of course, it's much worse than you're thinking. According to the IRS, for tax year 2005, there were 134 million returns filed (individual income taxes, so no corporate, etc.). Only 14 million of these had income over $100,000, but these people paid 71.6% of all income taxes (despite earning less than 50% of the aggregate income). So, you could probably take your war cost estimates and charge them to 14 or 15 million taxpayers. It's not a nice picture.
Using only 14MM as my tax paying base, each of those individuals paid over $10K this year toward the war -- and that figure will increase to $193K annually in 2011? In other words, since no one can pay more for the war than they earn (all other budgetary items aside), we'll have to borrow an exorbitant amount to keep this war afloat? Can't we just put all of this $ toward alternative energy sources and sustainability? Makes me wanna cry.
Alternative energy? Sustainability? Why should the government be spending this money at all? Why not let us decide what to do with our own dough?
say, who is this "kevinon7?" His pic is dreamy!
Did you read that the Libertarian party sent their condolences to the Republican National Committee after McCain's victory? "We simply felt the need to express our heartfelt sympathy for the Republican Party as they undergo this tough time within their party."
Post a Comment