The Cost of the Iraq War
When White House economic advisor, Lawrence Lindsay, said in 2002 that the war could cost $100 - $200 billion, the Bush administration immediately rejected such a large number, stating that the war would be quick and the Iraqi economy would pay for the reconstruction. As of today, $251 billion has been appropriated for the war, and the Congressional Budget Office has predicted that the total cost of military combat alone could be $500 billion. That total ignores the cost of reconstruction, the cost of caring for veterans, new recruitment costs and the interest payments the government now owes for borrowing to finance this costly war. It's time to start looking at the real cost of the war.
Nobel Prize winning economist and former chief economist for the World Bank, Joseph E. Stiglitz and the Kennedy School's Linda Blimes have estimated the total cost to the American economy of the war in Iraq to be between $1 and $2 trillion!
$1 TRILLION is enough to:
- Keep Social Security solvent for 75 years - twice over*
- Pay for college scholarships for 48 million Americans*
- Pay for over one hundred million kids to attend head start**
- Fully fund global anti-hunger efforts for 35 years***
The terrible loss of life and disabilities suffered by our brave soldiers stationed in Iraq has a real economic effect on our economy.
These costs can never account for the pain and suffering associated with losing so many American lives. However, they are demonstrative of the true financial costs of war.
Monthly Cost of Direct Military Combat:
Total funds appropriated to date:
Total expected appropriated funds:
VA Costs:
Total cost to American economy:
Total number of brain and spinal injuries in veterans:
Average cost to treat brain injured veteran:
Total Expected Cost of Veterans Disability:
Total American soldiers killed in Iraq:
Expected loss to economy for each deceased soldier:
Interest on Debt:
*From "War's High Price: Costs Include Investments Neglected At Home," Editorial, Des Moines Register. 1/24/06
** Extrapolated from the Administration of Children and Families Head Start Bureau for 2005
*** Extrapolated from the National Priorities Project's Cost of War
**** Blimes and Stiglitz, The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict, January 2006.
