$100 BILLION Dollars!!! $100 BILLION!

[WalrusSlayer]

Just saw the online article about the Bush veto. What had escaped my attention is just HOW MUCH money this bill was funding for the war. And that is of course on top of what we've sunk already, and doubtless there will be more after this.

Unreal. Just imagine the good that money could have done...

[frogbison]

1. From Salon's War Room (Tim Grieve)

"On May 1, 2007, the U.S. cost of the Iraq war will approach more than $550 billion, enough to pay for college educations for nearly half of the kids in U.S. high schools today."

[WindRavenX]

3. USA! USA!

:eyes:

Sometimes this country makes me puke.

[Bluebear]

5. We're number one!

[WindRavenX]

6. in massive suckitude

It boggles the mind.

There's always enough money to kill and maim people in imperialist conquests, but never enough for the poor, for education, healthcare, or science. :(

[enid602]

4. $100B

Hoy 'no child left behind,' batman!

[whistle]

2. $30 billion for our troops $70 billion plus for contractors

... and private mercenaries :wtf:

The war must be stopped now!

[subterranean]

7. Serious question: Where does this money come from?

I presume the money in the regular budget is already earmarked for other purposes. Does the federal government have a massive slush fund stashed away that they can use for situations like this? Will they just issue more debt? They're not raising taxes. I'm sure the U.S. government has no problem raising an extra $125 billion to continue a war, but where does it come from? Anybody know how this works?

[Rydz777]

8. Off budget

I believe all the Iraq funding is deliberately "off budget." Since we are operating at a deficit, it means an increase in the national debt and we fund that by selling bonds - increasingly to the Chinese. Part of this tragedy is that we are getting deeper and deeper in debt to China in order to pay for this folly.

[subterranean]

10. Thanks.

Bush wouldn't be having this problem if he had just put the funding for the war in the budget last year. But I guess then he wouldn't be able to boast about cutting the deficit he created.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. Isn't the cost a staggering

$9,000,000,000 billion dollars a month? Every SECOND it is costing us $20,833. Every bloody second.