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Today's Economix column addresses what I brought up in class- the relative cost of the war in Iraq. World War II cost about 30% of GDP, Korea 14%, Vietnam 9%, and Iraq? 1%. But what are some of the alternatives that could be done with that money? Remember, rational choices.
2 comments:
1.2 trillion is alot of creme. all that creme could be used for alot better things then war with iraq, like health care for the nation, increased cancer research, and america could save millions of childrens lives with a global immunization campaign. you could do all that for a couple decades. we could rebuild new orleans with a huge increase in reconstruciton funds. you could also have universal preschool for all 3-4 year olds. also more money could be used for national security. america ould stop the atrocities goign on in darfur and beat back the taliban with all this creme. these all seem like better ideas for spending money than a war with people that dont even like us.
Well some of those alternatives certainly sound very good, like increased security and cancer research and the rebuilding of Nwarlens...as for the preschool, I’m not sure if kids that age should be going to school, immunizations...obviously they are great for epidemics and dangerous diseases that are alive, esp. in poorer countries, but many are not needed today and can have harmful affects (according to Simone's research paper). And the health care, I believe everyone should have it, but I feel that it doesn’t work as well when it is socialized by the gov't, like in Canada, where I had a first had experience with it and they system did not work very well at all (but maybe that was just an unlucky bad experience). Anyway, I do not doubt that the money used on Iraq could be used in many other efficient and useful ways, and sure many would be better than what the money has ended up financing in Iraq. But you also have to think of the intentions, and Iraq is a war that was started with good intentions but it has gone horribly wrong. We have accomplished very little and so the money, effort, and lives at this point seem like a very sad waste. But we misjudged the situation, and I feel that if it had have went well, $1.2 trillion would not have been too much to pay for the liberation of a people and the establishment of a stable democracy in the center of a troubled region that could have helped democracy and freedom spread to the rest of the middle east (and god willing it still could, but sadly this does not seem very probable at this point).
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