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Cost of the Iraq War
The Cost of War
A look at the Cost of war
The Cost of war can be measured in many ways. However you look at it, we can never asses the full damage to our humanity, or the complete toll this war will have in the countless ways it effects us all. The number of civilian lives lost has been purposefully and largely uncounted, at least by our own government in any meaningful way. But many organizations have done there best to show us the cost of this war both in civilian and military lives lost and the financial toll it has had on our own Country.
The financial cost for the Iraq War was $509,745,061,240 on the morning of April 9th, 2008, how this loss of money will effect our nation has yet to unfold completely.
Consider the costs...
$4,681 per household.
$1,721 per person.
$341.4 million per day.
You can see the cost of war for any city or town in the nation at the National Priorities Organization website as well as other ways the money could have been spent.
Go to http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
How much has Santa Cruz Paid for this war?
Here in Santa Cruz, I was astounded by the finical devastation this war has cost the City of Santa Cruz alone.
According to the Nation Priorities Project, the war is currently costing the City of Santa Cruz, about a dollar every second. As of 11:21 am. April 9th , 2008 the total cost to taxpayers in the City of Santa Cruz is $113.7 million thus far. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
46,786 People with Health Care OR
202,534 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
2,031 Public Safety Officers OR
1,606 Music and Arts Teachers OR
17,083 Scholarships for University Students OR
11 New Elementary Schools OR
340 Affordable Housing Units OR
42,491 Children with Health Care OR
13,597 Head Start Places for Children OR
1,633 Elementary School Teachers OR
1,436 Port Container Inspectors
Taxpayers in Santa Cruz, California will pay $30.3 million for projected Iraq War Spending for FY 2009. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
12,482 People with Health Care OR
54,035 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
542 Public Safety Officers OR
428 Music and Arts Teachers OR
4,558 Scholarships for University Students OR
3 New Elementary Schools OR
91 Affordable Housing Units OR
11,336 Children with Health Care OR
3,628 Head Start Places for Children OR
436 Elementary School Teachers OR
383 Port Container Inspectors
How the money is calculated
See -
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost_of_war_counter_notes
Cost in Lives
At the time of writing, the costs in documented civilian lives lost has been put at 90,251 by Iraq Body Count.
This is the most conservative and well documented number. The real cost in lives is impossible to tally as people flee to neighboring countries and mass graves are quickly filled. Some numbers are stated at over a million.
(http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
The current cost in American lives lost is
4028
The true cost of this war will be felt for a very long time and the depth of that cost impossible to foretell, except that it will be massive. It not only damages us financially -- it damages our collective humanity.
The Cost of war can be measured in many ways. However you look at it, we can never asses the full damage to our humanity, or the complete toll this war will have in the countless ways it effects us all. The number of civilian lives lost has been purposefully and largely uncounted, at least by our own government in any meaningful way. But many organizations have done there best to show us the cost of this war both in civilian and military lives lost and the financial toll it has had on our own Country.
The financial cost for the Iraq War was $509,745,061,240 on the morning of April 9th, 2008, how this loss of money will effect our nation has yet to unfold completely.
Consider the costs...
$4,681 per household.
$1,721 per person.
$341.4 million per day.
You can see the cost of war for any city or town in the nation at the National Priorities Organization website as well as other ways the money could have been spent.
Go to http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
How much has Santa Cruz Paid for this war?
Here in Santa Cruz, I was astounded by the finical devastation this war has cost the City of Santa Cruz alone.
According to the Nation Priorities Project, the war is currently costing the City of Santa Cruz, about a dollar every second. As of 11:21 am. April 9th , 2008 the total cost to taxpayers in the City of Santa Cruz is $113.7 million thus far. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
46,786 People with Health Care OR
202,534 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
2,031 Public Safety Officers OR
1,606 Music and Arts Teachers OR
17,083 Scholarships for University Students OR
11 New Elementary Schools OR
340 Affordable Housing Units OR
42,491 Children with Health Care OR
13,597 Head Start Places for Children OR
1,633 Elementary School Teachers OR
1,436 Port Container Inspectors
Taxpayers in Santa Cruz, California will pay $30.3 million for projected Iraq War Spending for FY 2009. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
12,482 People with Health Care OR
54,035 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
542 Public Safety Officers OR
428 Music and Arts Teachers OR
4,558 Scholarships for University Students OR
3 New Elementary Schools OR
91 Affordable Housing Units OR
11,336 Children with Health Care OR
3,628 Head Start Places for Children OR
436 Elementary School Teachers OR
383 Port Container Inspectors
How the money is calculated
See -
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost_of_war_counter_notes
Cost in Lives
At the time of writing, the costs in documented civilian lives lost has been put at 90,251 by Iraq Body Count.
This is the most conservative and well documented number. The real cost in lives is impossible to tally as people flee to neighboring countries and mass graves are quickly filled. Some numbers are stated at over a million.
(http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/)
The current cost in American lives lost is
4028
The true cost of this war will be felt for a very long time and the depth of that cost impossible to foretell, except that it will be massive. It not only damages us financially -- it damages our collective humanity.
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Good stats and sites. I found some great info at the National Priorities Project. We are loosing our humanity and our money because our oil somehow got underneath Iraq's sand. Thanks for the good info.
cost of war globally.
Yankee go home before we do the same to you.
Yankee go home before we do the same to you.
JO,
So because I posted some stats on the relationship to the war in Iraq and Civilian Iraqi lives, and the financial cost of war and what we could do with that money, which would of course include helping on a global front.
I agree that the cost of any war effects the entire world. I could not cohesively or in any manor that was accurate account for that, accept for what I wrote at the end, that this war hurts our humanity.
I am no Yankee and I ain't going anywhere. The South will not rise again, nor will this war end when the democrats get into office. I hope I am wrong about that but I have little faith in our system. I am against this war as I am what going on in Darfur, Burma, (I refuse to call it by its new name) and Africa, Tibet, and far too many other places to mention.
What did I post to make you say such a thing?
So because I posted some stats on the relationship to the war in Iraq and Civilian Iraqi lives, and the financial cost of war and what we could do with that money, which would of course include helping on a global front.
I agree that the cost of any war effects the entire world. I could not cohesively or in any manor that was accurate account for that, accept for what I wrote at the end, that this war hurts our humanity.
I am no Yankee and I ain't going anywhere. The South will not rise again, nor will this war end when the democrats get into office. I hope I am wrong about that but I have little faith in our system. I am against this war as I am what going on in Darfur, Burma, (I refuse to call it by its new name) and Africa, Tibet, and far too many other places to mention.
What did I post to make you say such a thing?
I also found the website of the Nation Priorities Project to have a wealth of information. and they do have some reports on the Global affect of this war in their links. I for one thank you for posting this info. Not sure where the other commenter is coming from. Some people think if your not thinking in a way they think things should be looked at, you are not in tune with them, and therefore wrong. But that is simply not true. Any good information is good to get out.
Attached is a pdf file -- The Costs and Consequences
of the Plan to Build a New Generation of Nuclear Weapons
This site is trying to keep track of international arms trading by America. I found it reading this post as I found many great reports.
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/
Thanks & Peace
Jay
Attached is a pdf file -- The Costs and Consequences
of the Plan to Build a New Generation of Nuclear Weapons
This site is trying to keep track of international arms trading by America. I found it reading this post as I found many great reports.
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/
Thanks & Peace
Jay
I say, fuck paying income taxes. But if you do, have the balls to hold back part in protest of the war. if we ALL just stopped paying in a direct action to end the war, you would see troops coming home pretty quickly. If we stopped shopping collectively one day a week, we would see this war end faster. Our government only cares about and speaks in dollars and cents.
One thing I learned from reading this is part of the cost of war is the ratcheting up of nuclear proliferation.
I read the PDF file Complex 2030 in its entirety. It has everything you could ever need to know about nuclear proliferation in our country. It seems that the Anti Nuke movement has lost allot of steam since the end of the cold war, and the conflicts in the middle east have started. Beyond the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems war with Iran may be forth coming. After reading this very informative document -- I think its time nuclear proliferation become part of the Anti War movement again.
Read this document. If you want to know what our Country is doing, what our politicians are doing, who is getting the money and what our current nuclear plans for the future are regarding nuclear weapons, this is the document to read. It not only follows the money and the corporations that reap the financial benefit, it goes deeper, showing us the programs, the costs, the new technology, who voted for what, how much lobbying money was spent etc. What politicians have benefited and accepted money while opposing this plan at the same time.
Nuclear weapons technology and the building of new nuclear weapons is in works now. Testing will soon come, as this document shows that funding has been given to the Nevada test site, to keep is ready for new testing, despite what treaties and agreements we have signed.
We need to stop it before it happens, not after.
I read the PDF file Complex 2030 in its entirety. It has everything you could ever need to know about nuclear proliferation in our country. It seems that the Anti Nuke movement has lost allot of steam since the end of the cold war, and the conflicts in the middle east have started. Beyond the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems war with Iran may be forth coming. After reading this very informative document -- I think its time nuclear proliferation become part of the Anti War movement again.
Read this document. If you want to know what our Country is doing, what our politicians are doing, who is getting the money and what our current nuclear plans for the future are regarding nuclear weapons, this is the document to read. It not only follows the money and the corporations that reap the financial benefit, it goes deeper, showing us the programs, the costs, the new technology, who voted for what, how much lobbying money was spent etc. What politicians have benefited and accepted money while opposing this plan at the same time.
Nuclear weapons technology and the building of new nuclear weapons is in works now. Testing will soon come, as this document shows that funding has been given to the Nevada test site, to keep is ready for new testing, despite what treaties and agreements we have signed.
We need to stop it before it happens, not after.
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