Buddy, Can You Spare a Cruise Missile?

[McCamy Taylor]

This weekend, our broke federal government threw away a few more million dollars. At a cost of around $1 million each, Tomahawk Cruise missiles are not cheap. And we tossed 112 of them at Libya. That was in the first day of bombing alone. What could we have bought with that money?

Consider that insured people are dying in Arizona, because the state says that transplants cost too much. Ninety people were told “Sorry, we don’t have enough money to save you.” Since a bone marrow transplant costs around $200,000, one Cruise Missile can mean the difference between life and death for five people.

Everyday, I see people who can not afford treatment for sleep apnea. The medical budget for my county’s indigent health care system is stretched too thin. After paying for the heart disease and cancer treatment, there is nothing left over to help people get enough oxygen at night. A sleep study runs around $2500. CPAP is another $500-$1000. If we lobbed 111 missiles rather than 112 at Libya, 300 people might be able to sleep at night----and save the government thousands of dollars in medical expenses associated with untreated sleep disorders.

Premature babies typically cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars in neonatal ICU care. Prenatal care for women can cut down on the number of premature births. It costs about $7000 to have a baby in the U.S. 130 babies could have had a healthy start for the cost of one missile---freeing up millions in Medicaid money for those folks who need the transplants.

I am not asking for the sun and the moon. I know that our government has no interest in ending war---it is too damn profitable for oil companies and the members of the military industrial complex. But Buddy, could you spare one Cruise Missile? The life you save might be your neighbor’s. Or your own.

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. K & R! GREAT post. n/t

[slipslidingaway]

2. knr ...or just a kick n/t