What is Digg?677 Comments
- socialpyramid, on 11/14/2007, -23/+480anyone else madder than ever now?
- webweb, on 11/14/2007, -11/+329The list, for those of you that don't really like clickies :)
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What can $611 billion buy?
1. Nearly 4,000 Newton North High Schools
Tagged as the most expensive high school in Massachusetts, at $154.6 million, the construction design for the new Newton North High School could be replicated almost 4,000 times using the money spent on the war.
2. 40 Big Digs
At almost $15 billion, Boston's Central Artery project has been held up as the nation's most expensive public works project. Now multiply that by 40 and you're getting close to US taxpayers’ commitment to democracy in Iraq – so far.
3. Almost 18 months' worth of free gas for everyone
US drivers consume approximately 384.7 million gallons of gasoline a day. Retail prices averaged $3.00 a gallon in early November. Breaking it down, $611 billion could buy gasoline for everybody in the United States, for about 530 days.
4. Many, many environment-friendly cars on the road
With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over.
TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.
5. Nearly 14 million years' worth of tuition, room, and board at Harvard
At published rates for this year, $611 billion translates into almost 14 million free rides for a year at Harvard University.
Tuition and fees at the University of Massachusetts-Boston could be paid for over 53 million years.
6. More than a year's worth of Medicare benefits for everyone
In fiscal 2008, Medicare benefits will total $454 billion, according to a Heritage Foundation summary. The $611 billion in war costs is 17 times the amount vetoed by the president for a $35 billion health benefit program for poor children.
7. A looong contract for Dice-K
The Red Sox and Daisuke Matsuzaka agreed on a six-year, $52 million contract. The war cost could be enough to have Dice-K mania for more than 70,000-some years at this year's rate.
8. A real war on poverty
According to World Bank estimates, $54 billion a year would eliminate starvation and malnutrition globally by 2015, while $30 billion would provide a year of primary education for every child on earth.
At the upper range of those estimates, the $611 billion cost of the war could have fed and educated the world's poor for seven years.
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And of course not on the list is a partridge in a pear tree, but just one since pear trees are expensive! - jollyholly, on 11/14/2007, -19/+319It is time for America to stop blowing up other countries, bring the troops home, and become more fiscally responsible.
- axisofphilippe, on 11/13/2007, -11/+254Not Listed: Enough coke and hookers to last until the sun extinguishes.
- CasinoJack, on 11/13/2007, -5/+227Kinda puts things into perspective.
On a side note, I worked out that I'd have to spend $250 per second for the rest of my life to burn through $611bn...Assuming I live to 100...And can spend money in my sleep...And on the toilet. - suxmonkey, on 11/13/2007, -15/+178I could probably buy Russia for that price.
- aussieNickuss, on 11/13/2007, -11/+172"Now multiply that by 40 and you're getting close to US taxpayers’ commitment to democracy in Iraq"
That quote made me mad..... WTF do hard-working tax paying citizens like you and me have to pay for 'democracy' in a completely foreign country? Beats me. - BrokenBokken, on 11/14/2007, -8/+125If you're not furious, you're not paying attention.
- insllvn, on 11/14/2007, -0/+112Want to be even angrier? $611500000000 could pay approximately 6% of the US national debt.
- inactive, on 11/13/2007, -9/+118Wouldn't it have been simpler and saved thousands of lives to just hand $611 billion to oil companies?
- indyGuy, on 11/14/2007, -7/+983,055,000,000 one-laptop-per-child. Seems like that's more children than are in the world...
- unclemeat, on 11/13/2007, -7/+94If it was Guiliani, we'd be asking what $911 can buy.
- ophello, on 11/13/2007, -9/+94I always wonder what it would take for a Bush supporter to change their mind and start loathing our current administration. So far, nothing seems to work. Not even this, I'll bet.
- orangeLemon, on 11/13/2007, -1/+79Probably could have bought Iraq if we didn't declare war on them first.
- inactive, on 11/13/2007, -25/+93Why are you still in Iraq? Aside from killing civilians, what do you do there?
If anyone could answer this, I'd really appreciate it. Because I don't have a clue. - indieAnnaJones, on 11/13/2007, -10/+76I can has 611,000,000,000 McDonald's double cheezburgers?
- Forklore, on 11/14/2007, -0/+65Why do we have "wars" on everything...why can't we work on it instead?
- Iwantawii, on 11/13/2007, -2/+66"...And on the toilet."
YOU sir have a laptop. - kdoig, on 11/13/2007, -5/+69We could pay off Dr. Evil's demands of 100 billion dollars, 6 times! thats enough for some more austin power's sequels!
- cowsgonemadd3, on 11/13/2007, -4/+67It could fix all pot holes in the usa. It could pay for all the solar and windmills we would need to power the nation with renewable energy and get off foreign oil. It could fix social security. And so on...thanks bush for wasting OUR money.
- wrockwood, on 11/13/2007, -2/+61one problem - it's not just $611 billion... With interest, by the time the Chinese loans we're taking out to PAY for it, it will be over $3 trillion. gfg, america, land of the poor :(
- localzuk, on 11/13/2007, -2/+61611 billion cups of coffee?
- inactive, on 11/13/2007, -7/+60If current Americans only had the balls to have a tea party, the tyranny could finally end.
Just say no to ridiculous wars! - Waiting2awake, on 11/13/2007, -5/+56Because you were not awake enough when your leaders, that America voted in, decided against common sense and reason to invade a country that did nothing to you so that your leaders could profit their cronies.
If it pisses you off for paying for the war because of your bad decisions, imagine how the Iraqi's that have lost their family due to it? - brstilson, on 11/13/2007, -2/+50That sounds like the voice of reason, are you the voice of reason? Please come back to America, we need you.
- inactive, on 11/13/2007, -8/+55Money doesn't fix the war on poverty - it perpetuates it. Education fixes the war on poverty.
- CLShortFuse, on 11/13/2007, -2/+48The real question, who is getting the $611billion? It's not like they are burning $1 bills every time they shoot a bullet. Collectively, different companies and individuals are receiving 611 billion dollars. The question is, who? Blackwater, K.B.R.-Halliburton, CACI and Titan?
- nemothewhale, on 11/13/2007, -22/+65digg me down
- kalleanka, on 11/13/2007, -0/+39I calculated that I can sleep with every prostitute in the entire world, 342 times each, for $611 billion dollars.
The average intercourse would last 0.72 seconds if I could keep it up 24/7/365 until I die at the age of 100. - mrjit, on 11/13/2007, -2/+38WOOSH. POINT MISSED.
- Ookadoo, on 11/13/2007, -6/+41Or you could buy 611 trillion russian brides, if that many existed.
- HonestAbe, on 11/14/2007, -1/+35The fact that there are still *any* Bush supporters is a problem.
- 89992, on 11/13/2007, -1/+34I wonder how many Congressmen you can buy with that.
- diggduggjoe, on 11/13/2007, -0/+33Which would have strengthened the dollar and make oil cheaper, the exact goal of blowing up most of the Middle East, if you believe that is is about oil. I am closer to the idea that it was about war profiteering by big corporations. As long and the multi-nationals make money, it does not matter that the rest of the nation falls apart.
We need to get out of Iraq now! Cut spending and pay our bills ASAP. - slashbot, on 11/13/2007, -5/+38Trust me, you would not want to buy 40 big digs :P
We wouldnt wish that on any other city - mddleNameIsEarl, on 11/13/2007, -0/+33I'm more concerned with what $611B could not be buying. Like, say, more deficit.
- griz, on 11/13/2007, -0/+32Very good point.
A perceived threat and a real threat are very different. Walk down a dark street at night and tell me how safe you feel when you pass someone in the night. Are you justified in attacking them before they have a chance to attack you? According to the logic of our leaders you are. - KibibyteBrain, on 11/13/2007, -2/+32We could have bribed all the insurgents to victory several times over...
- Cymrubeats, on 11/13/2007, -2/+32I'm sorry to say this, you pair of uneducated plebians...but Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or terrorism in general.
- insllvn, on 11/13/2007, -1/+30Here is something else $611500000000 could pay for: ~6% of our national debt.
- D3koy, on 11/13/2007, -5/+34Well, I can finally get that HD-DVD adapter for my Xbox....And then one for everyone else in the world..
- Twoodge, on 11/13/2007, -0/+28A war? Psht, it is and always was an invasion. Nothing more.
- soulpunisher, on 11/13/2007, -9/+37That also could buy me a lot of world of warcraft gold too...I could finally get my epic flying mount :)
- everlaster, on 11/13/2007, -6/+33They forgot: 2033,3 DIGGS($610billion/$300million)
- codehkr77, on 11/13/2007, -8/+34None of those will return profit for BUSH... thats why none of those things are happening...
- grantmoore3d, on 11/13/2007, -3/+29I recall an article also saying that instead of the war, they could have funded 11 missions to Mars...
- br0ck, on 11/13/2007, -0/+26And money can provide education. In fact, just below the box you were posting in was webweb's listing of each slide and if you glanced at it you'd see a line item that said, "$30 billion would provide a year of primary education for every child on earth", so $600Bn would pay for 20 years of education for every child on the planet.
- alphasixtyone, on 11/13/2007, -2/+27Other than killing civilians, we are there to set up an infrastructure with which we can benefit greatly from their oil resources.
- humanerror, on 04/03/2008, -1/+26Do you not know any other insults besides "ignorant twit"? Look at your comments history. You seriously need to work on your vocabulary. Ignorant twit.
- Butros, on 11/13/2007, -1/+25Or we could go after terrorists instead of invading sovereign nations under false pretenses. That might work.
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