--- In [email protected], "richardjwilliamstexas" <willytex@...> wrote: > > Denise Evans: > > This table says how the money is being allocated > > - way too much on war of course. > > > You sound like a reasonable person, Denise. Do you > see any trends in this chart: >
NOTE: It's a fake chart put out by fringe right wing blogs and it's not supported by legitimate objective facts. "The costs of the War on Terror are often contested, as academics and critics of the component wars (including the Iraq War) have unearthed many hidden costs not represented in official estimates. "The most recent major report on these costs come from Brown University in the form of the Costs of War project, which said the total for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is at least $3.2-4 trillion.[1] The report disavowed previous estimates of the Iraq War's cost as being under $1 trillion, saying the Department of Defense's direct spending on Iraq totaled at least $757.8 billion, but also highlighting the complementary costs at home, such as interest paid on the funds borrowed to finance the wars and a potential nearly $1 trillion in extra spending to care for veterans returning from combat through 2050.[2] "According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report published in October 2007, the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost taxpayers a total of $2.4 trillion dollars by 2017 when counting the huge interest costs because combat is being financed with borrowed money. The CBO estimated that of the $2.4 trillion long-term price tag for the war, about $1.9 trillion of that would be spent on Iraq, or $6,300 per U.S. citizen.[9][10] Sources: 1. Costs of War. Brown University. http://costsofwar.org/ 2. "Economic and Budgetary Costs of the Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan to the United States: A Summary". Costs of War. Brown University. http://costsofwar.org/sites/default/files/articles/20/attachments/Economic%20Costs%20Summary.pdf. Retrieved 20 July 2011. 9. Richard Sammon (July 2007). "Iraq War: The Cost in Dollars". http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/The_True_Cost_0720723.html. Retrieved 2007-07-23. 10. U.S. CBO estimates $2.4 trillion long-term war costs". Reuters. October 2007. http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2450753720071024. Retrieved 2007-10-24. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_cost_of_the_Iraq_War SEE ALSO: Cause of decline in U.S. financial position Both economic conditions and policy decisions significantly worsened the debt outlook since 2001, when large surpluses were forecast for the following decade by the CBO. The Pew Center reported in April 2011 the cause of a $12.7 trillion shift in the debt situation, from a 2001 CBO forecast of $2.3 trillion cumulative surplus by 2011 versus the estimated $10.4 trillion public debt in 2011. The major drivers were: * Revenue declines due to two recessions, separate from the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003: 28% * Defense spending increases: 15% * Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003: 13% * Increases in net interest: 11% * Other non-defense spending: 10% * Other tax cuts: 8% * Obama Stimulus: 6% * Medicare Part D: 2% * Other reasons: 7%[55] Similar analyses were reported by the New York Times in June 2009,[56] the Washington Post in April 2011[57] and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in May 2011.[58] Economist Paul Krugman wrote in May 2011: "What happened to the budget surplus the federal government had in 2000? The answer is, three main things. First, there were the Bush tax cuts, which added roughly $2 trillion to the national debt over the last decade. Second, there were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which added an additional $1.1 trillion or so. And third was the Great Recession, which led both to a collapse in revenue and to a sharp rise in spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs."[59] A Bloomberg analysis in May 2011 attributed $2.0 trillion of the $9.3 trillion of public debt (20%) to additional military and intelligence spending since September 2001, plus another $45 billion annually in interest.[60] All sources documented ny number, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget
