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Ethereal
03-06-2017, 06:02 PM
One study has estimated (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314) the Iraq war cost American taxpayers at least $2,000,000,000,000. That's two trillion dollars.

I was thinking about what we could have used that money for instead of a disastrous, needless war. For starters, the poorest eighty million Americans, one quarter of the population, could have been given $25,000 each.

That got me thinking of an interesting experiment: How would YOU allocate two trillion tax dollars towards public policy? Would you take $500,000,000,000 of it and use it to swell Medicaid and Medicare with cash? Would you take $100,000,000,000 of it and spend it on schools in the inner city? Would you take a whopping $1,000,000,000,000 of it and spend it on repairing and modernizing our national infrastructure keeping in mind that you would have another $1,000,000,000,000 left over to spend on other things? How would you spend the vast amount of money that was so recklessly squandered by the US political class?

Archer0915
03-06-2017, 06:10 PM
One study has estimated (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314) the Iraq war cost American taxpayers at least $2,000,000,000,000. That's two trillion dollars.

I was thinking about what we could have used that money for instead of a disastrous, needless war. For starters, the poorest eighty million Americans, one quarter of the population, could have been given $25,000 each.

That got me thinking of an interesting experiment: How would YOU allocate two trillion tax dollars towards public policy? Would you take $500,000,000,000 of it and use it to swell Medicaid and Medicare with cash? Would you take $100,000,000,000 of it and spend it on schools in the inner city? Would you take a whopping $1,000,000,000,000 of it and spend it on repairing and modernizing our national infrastructure keeping in mind that you would have another $1,000,000,000,000 left over to spend on other things? How would you spend the vast amount of money that was so recklessly squandered by the US political class?
Well there was no money to spend... We would be 2T less in debt.

Newpublius
03-06-2017, 06:14 PM
Well there was no money to spend... We would be 2T less in debt.

Well, that's true, but if we didn't borrow that money, the people who bought the bonds would've done something else as well.

Newpublius
03-06-2017, 06:15 PM
One study has estimated (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314) the Iraq war cost American taxpayers at least $2,000,000,000,000. That's two trillion dollars.

I was thinking about what we could have used that money for instead of a disastrous, needless war. For starters, the poorest eighty million Americans, one quarter of the population, could have been given $25,000 each.

That got me thinking of an interesting experiment: How would YOU allocate two trillion tax dollars towards public policy? Would you take $500,000,000,000 of it and use it to swell Medicaid and Medicare with cash? Would you take $100,000,000,000 of it and spend it on schools in the inner city? Would you take a whopping $1,000,000,000,000 of it and spend it on repairing and modernizing our national infrastructure keeping in mind that you would have another $1,000,000,000,000 left over to spend on other things? How would you spend the vast amount of money that was so recklessly squandered by the US political class?

The opportunity cost is rather stunning of course.

Archer0915
03-06-2017, 06:16 PM
Well, that's true, but if we didn't borrow that money, the people who bought the bonds would've done something else as well.

Like bought stock or spent it...

Ethereal
03-06-2017, 06:17 PM
Here's my short list:



$250,000,000,000 to spend on the most vulnerable and critical infrastructure in the USA
$250,000,000,000 to spend on strengthening Medicaid and Medicare
$125,000,000,000 to spend on strengthening Social Security
$125,000,000,000 to spend on alleviating student debt
$125,000,000,000 to spend on inner city schools
$62,500,000,000 to spend on housing for the homeless
$62,500,000,000 to spend on alternative energy
$1,000,000,000,000 worth of tax relief for the middle class

Ethereal
03-06-2017, 06:18 PM
Well there was no money to spend... We would be 2T less in debt.
Good point.

Chris
03-06-2017, 06:22 PM
Well, that's true, but if we didn't borrow that money, the people who bought the bonds would've done something else as well.

$5.554 trillion Intragovernmental Holdings
$14.403 trillion Debt Held by the Public

$1.09 trillion Japan
$1.058 trillion China
$288 billion Ireland...

@ https://www.thebalance.com/who-owns-the-u-s-national-debt-3306124

Newpublius
03-06-2017, 06:23 PM
Like bought stock or spent it...

Well, yes, of course, or whatever else can be done with money.

Chris
03-06-2017, 06:54 PM
If the money was surplus then I'd say just give it back to the American people and maybe sodme for welfare like Hong Kong did, see http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/79431-The-world%E2%80%99s-freest-economy.

donttread
03-06-2017, 07:49 PM
One study has estimated (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314) the Iraq war cost American taxpayers at least $2,000,000,000,000. That's two trillion dollars.

I was thinking about what we could have used that money for instead of a disastrous, needless war. For starters, the poorest eighty million Americans, one quarter of the population, could have been given $25,000 each.

That got me thinking of an interesting experiment: How would YOU allocate two trillion tax dollars towards public policy? Would you take $500,000,000,000 of it and use it to swell Medicaid and Medicare with cash? Would you take $100,000,000,000 of it and spend it on schools in the inner city? Would you take a whopping $1,000,000,000,000 of it and spend it on repairing and modernizing our national infrastructure keeping in mind that you would have another $1,000,000,000,000 left over to spend on other things? How would you spend the vast amount of money that was so recklessly squandered by the US political class?


Just one of many colossal fiscal fuck ups by your government. Missing TARP funds, $600.00 toilet seats, the mishandling of SS , prohibition , etc. Had we not wasted the money on Iraq history shows they would of squandered it elsewhere.

Green Arrow
03-06-2017, 08:17 PM
Here's my short list:


$250,000,000,000 to spend on the most vulnerable and critical infrastructure in the USA
$250,000,000,000 to spend on strengthening Medicaid and Medicare
$125,000,000,000 to spend on strengthening Social Security
$125,000,000,000 to spend on alleviating student debt
$125,000,000,000 to spend on inner city schools
$62,500,000,000 to spend on housing for the homeless
$62,500,000,000 to spend on alternative energy
$1,000,000,000,000 worth of tax relief for the middle class


I like your list. You'd have my vote!

Ethereal
03-06-2017, 09:22 PM
I like your list. You'd have my vote!
It's easy to think of better ways to spend two trillion dollars than on needless destruction, so I can't take all the credit. Foreign policy interventionists have just set the bar incredibly low.

resister
03-06-2017, 09:28 PM
No matter how idiotic of an answer I could give, it would likely be a better use than our fearless leaders squandered it on!

A great big fireworks show the likes of which the world has never seen!

Dr. Who
03-07-2017, 12:37 AM
Here's my short list:


$250,000,000,000 to spend on the most vulnerable and critical infrastructure in the USA
$250,000,000,000 to spend on strengthening Medicaid and Medicare
$125,000,000,000 to spend on strengthening Social Security
$125,000,000,000 to spend on alleviating student debt
$125,000,000,000 to spend on inner city schools
$62,500,000,000 to spend on housing for the homeless
$62,500,000,000 to spend on alternative energy
$1,000,000,000,000 worth of tax relief for the middle class


Two trillion dollars could have gone a long way to improve American lives, but American lives are not the priority of government in general. America is a milk cow for interested parties. Probably the best milker on the planet. The corruption in government is to the bone but so carefully concealed with nationalism, fear and partisan politics that the average citizen can't see the forest for the trees. Everyone abuses the average citizen, from Big Pharma that is allowed by government to overcharge Americans, to hospitals to insurance companies. They all have a license to rape Americans. Globalist businesses get a free pass and domestic business pays the freight. It's pretty sad.

Common
03-07-2017, 04:13 AM
Its impossible not to agree with the end result in Iraq and how all that money spent could have been put to much better use helping americans in need.

Peter1469
03-07-2017, 05:07 AM
Just one of many colossal fiscal fuck ups by your government. Missing TARP funds, $600.00 toilet seats, the mishandling of SS , prohibition , etc. Had we not wasted the money on Iraq history shows they would of squandered it elsewhere.
The not missing TARP funds were a travesty as well. They weren't even used for toxic assets.

Subdermal
03-07-2017, 11:42 AM
One study has estimated (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314) the Iraq war cost American taxpayers at least $2,000,000,000,000. That's two trillion dollars.

I was thinking about what we could have used that money for instead of a disastrous, needless war. For starters, the poorest eighty million Americans, one quarter of the population, could have been given $25,000 each.

That got me thinking of an interesting experiment: How would YOU allocate two trillion tax dollars towards public policy? Would you take $500,000,000,000 of it and use it to swell Medicaid and Medicare with cash? Would you take $100,000,000,000 of it and spend it on schools in the inner city? Would you take a whopping $1,000,000,000,000 of it and spend it on repairing and modernizing our national infrastructure keeping in mind that you would have another $1,000,000,000,000 left over to spend on other things? How would you spend the vast amount of money that was so recklessly squandered by the US political class?
I would give it back to those who paid it, in exactly the amounts they paid.

Archer0915
03-07-2017, 11:49 AM
Wow imagination! There never was any money! It is just as irresponsible to spend it elsewhere as it was to spend it on war. It never should have been borrowed in the first place.