[Vision2020] Iraq/Afghanistan War Cost: Idaho Taxes Only: 53, 472 Teachers for One Year

[Ted Moffett]

I read this article from the Fri. Nov. 25 "Spokesman Review"
"The real cost of war? Here’s food for thought" and looked up the
source the article mentions, focused on Idaho:

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/nov/25/the-real-cost-of-war-heres-food-for-thought/
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Creating a fiscal crisis that demands undoing the New Deal has been a
goal of some libertarian free market fundamentalists, a goal that is
increasingly possible in the current political economic climate.  It
could be argued the W. Bush era enacted tax cuts in place while
fighting two expensive wars were a part of this plan to create a
massive fiscal crisis.  Thus when considering national and state debt
and the undermining of public education and other programs and
services this supposedly demands, the costs of war should be
emphasized in every discussion.  Assuming the data below is correct,
it's astounding what the Iraq/Afghanistan war spending could have
accomplished domestically.  Note that the war spending figures pasted
in below are only for what Idaho taxpayers contributed!

http://costofwar.com/en/publications/2010/national-priorities-project-tallies-cost-of-war-th/

http://costofwar.com/en/tradeoffs/state/ID/program/1/tradeoff/0

Trade Offs

Taxpayers in State of Idaho have paid $3.3 billion for Total War
Spending (Iraq + Afghanistan) Since FY01. For the same amount of
money, the following could be provided:

1.9 million Annual Energy Costs for a Household for One Year OR
1.8 million Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
53,472 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
452,763 Fair Market Rent for One Bedroom Apartment for One Year OR
78,969 Firefighters for One Year OR
399,183 Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR
1.2 million Households Converted to All Solar Energy for One Year OR
2.6 million Households Converted to All Wind Energy for One Year OR
508,441 Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year OR
1.6 million One Year Worth of Groceries for an Individual OR
642,081 People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
58,659 Police or Sheriff's Patrol Officers for One Year OR
677,492 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
602,052 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett