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2003-02-26
We seem to have billions of dollars to go to war, but if
we were to ask for the same amount to metricate, there would be fighting in the
streets.
John
President Bush�s budget doesn�t set aside any money at all to pay for the
war; budget chief Mitch Daniels says the war itself could cost about $60
billion, though former White House economic advisor Larry Lindsey, in a moment
of uncharacteristic candor last fall, guessed it could run $100
billion.
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments estimates five years of military occupation may cost between $26 billion and $105 billion; reconstruction, $30 billion to $100 billion; humanitarian relief, up to $10 billion. �Nobody has the slightest idea what its going to cost because we don�t know the damage,� Friedman says. The cost of rebuilding Iraq will be paid in part by oil revenue, and in part by contributions from other nations. But inevitably, a large share of the burden will be borne by the American taxpayers. |
