Do The Math: If We Weren't At War...

The reality is that we are at war, and that we can't just snap our fingers and immediately get out - even if we wanted to. But as an exercise, let us consider what we could be doing with the money we're spending on our two wars if we had never gone there in the first place.


Amount spent in 2010 on Iraq and Afghanistan: $170.7 billion.

Annual cost to pay one person for full-time time work at $10 per hour: $20,000

People that could be employed at that rate with $170.7 billion: 8.5 million

Number of officially unemployed people in the United States: 13.9 million

Employing 61% of the nation's unemployed: Priceless

The problem is not that the government can't afford to directly provide jobs during this economic crisis. The problem is that it is unwilling to do so because it has other priorities. In the coming election, let's consistently ask our leaders if jobs and the welfare of the middle and working classes has really been their top priority.