. . . the cost of the War in Iraq is about to top $500 billion, according to my little scale on the right. That makes it approximately equal to the net worth of ExxonMobil, which continues to fight additional reparations for the ExxonValdez incident of 1989.$500 billion is a big number. It is the total worth of all U.S. manufactured exports ten years ago. It is the estimated worth of all the gold and copper deposits that are believed to lie to the southwest of Anchorage, AK. It is the size of the estimated losses incurred during the subprime scandals that began last year.
I can't help thinking that we could use that money for other purposes.
2 comments:
The San Diego Union-Tribune, which may be the country's farthest-right newspaper, has a big article today citing Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel-winning economist, who says $3 trillion is a better estimate.
And I must have missed your comments about Ralph coming on board -- or are you too shocked to comment?
SAZ
$500 billion, $3 trillion--pretty soon you'll be talking about real money.
As for Ralph, I'm not shocked, only saddened. After all his accomplishments, this is what he'll be remembered for.
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