What could $500 billon dollars buy…besides a war in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Question

From today’s news reports, “Congress has now approved $507 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan and heightened security at overseas military bases since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to the Congressional Research Service. The war in Iraq has cost $379 billion and the conflict in Afghanistan now totals $97 billion." (source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060929/ap_on_go_co/defense_spending;_ylt=AjJlPNKBWxbrhbY33XBMywes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--)

So what else could that money have been spent on?
From the source listed below, we could have:
> paid for
43,744,313
children to attend a year of Head Start

> insured
197,766,223
children for one year.

> hired
5,723,612
additional public school teachers for one year.

> built
2,973,767
additional housing units.

> provided
16,010,746
students four-year scholarships at public universities.

Source:
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

Answer 1

For $308 billion, enough biodiesel facilities could be built to satisfy all of America's current transport fuel requirements and the estimated cost of production is half of the current price of imported oil. Perhaps a war on oil dependence would win the war on terrorism.

Answer 2

Ooh ooh, I know. We could buy a whole bunch of bandages for the people in the US who are injured by terrorists attacking us on our home turf....and some of the money could be spent on coffins for burying US citizens who are killed outright, and then maybe a little bit left over to build even more buildings that are knocked down by Islamo-Fascists....

Answer 3

Iraq is in no way extra desirable economically, there isn't even a ordinary electrical energy grant. i think of the wars are approximately people who make the main of them, palms sellers among others, after all what extra does an palms broker or producer desire, different than to sell palms to kill those with. additionally to shield oil factors. it quite is a ill shaggy dog tale that we are there because of the fact Sadaam became depraved, which truthfully he became. on the time of his worst repression and killing of Kurds and so on in Iraq, he became ultimate friends with the U. S., who even helped him. it quite is not a private opinion, it quite is a verifiable actuality. The conflict on Iraq became a international crime, and there is not any thank you to flee that actuality.

Answer 4

$ 500 bilion aint what it used to be