The Cost Of War
This isn't about the human cost---lives lost, suffering, the aftermath, the attempts to heal. There's no way to quantify that kind of cost of war. And I have no desire to engage in a political debate as I'm not very politically-inclined. I have some opinions and concerns but I'm not out for blood. And I think that while politics has its place and purpose, its place and purpose doesn't rank very high on my list. That said, I found this bit of data interesting: if you took the trillion+ spent on this war (so far) and dispersed it amongst the public schools in America, the amount would equal 17 million dollars for every public school. $17 million. That's kind of a lot of money.
posted by jay are at 12:31 PM
12 Comments:
and yet we can't pass a school bond or levy in many school districts...
2:04 PM, November 14, 2007
amazing, isn't it?
2:10 PM, November 14, 2007
Wow. They could maybe afford lockers so MediCal isn't paying for back surgery for the under-educated masses who pulled 500# backpacks to their schools only to be unable to get a job because their education was so bad it only qualified them to work in the car wash. Which doesn't have medical benefits.
I'm just saying, this has been a really good investment.
8:42 PM, November 14, 2007
i wonder what would really happen if we did give a gajillion dollars to each school. i mean, seriously. obviously there would be many benefits. but would we get our money's worth?
5:29 PM, November 15, 2007
I often see these kind of numbers too directed at the war in Iraq. I read somewhere that we are spending something like 700 million per day. I then think to myself wow think about how many big screen TVs I could buy with that. (Just kidding)
Seriously the thing I think we have to keep in mind is most of the money we are using for the war is borrowed so it’s not like that trillion dollars would be there for the schools if we weren’t in Iraq.
I think we also have to consider that we are still in the middle of a *war on terror* so it’s a little too early to start wondering where the money would be better spent. No one knows how this war will end and when it does historians can then determine weather we should have gone into Iraq and if the blood and treasure we have sacrificed was in vain. I pray that when we do look back many years from now we will find out that it was money well spent.
*Yes I still believe we are fighting terrorism
6:06 PM, November 15, 2007
I agree that if the money weren't being spent in Iraq, etc., it would definitely not be going to schools....the point is, if it's possible to get our hands on it for something like war, it seems like we should manage somehow to make some available for something like education. But you make good points.
6:40 PM, November 15, 2007
That Blogball is an astute fellow.
10:56 PM, November 15, 2007
I kind of wondered the same thing, bryan, about whether we'd notice a lot of difference if the schools received big chunks of money. We might see school faculty driving hummers. Hard to say. Anyway, I guess it isn't anything we'll ever have to worry about in our lifetimes!
And one other thing I meant to respond to, blogball---it seems like the fact that the money's borrowed is kind of irrelevant in a way. Just saying....
and I suppose astute is always in the mind of the beholder :) But I think you're all astute and everyone is able to bring something worthy of thinking about to the table.
12:20 AM, November 16, 2007
and by the way, "astute is in the eye of the beholder" didn't mean to imply in any way that you're not astute blogball! That's what it sounds like I was saying. I just think it's kind of interesting how we all think the voice of reason is the one that echoes our own opinions. And that's normal, obviously. Anyway, again, no slam intended against ya, blogball! :) Not only are you astute, you're hilarious.
12:27 AM, November 16, 2007
Hmmm...from the perspective of a school teacher I would have to say we don't need nearly that much money. That being said my school's reality would be vastly improved by a bit of that money.
8:47 PM, November 16, 2007
Wow! So much could be accomplished with that kind of money!
4:04 AM, November 17, 2007
Coming late to the conversation, but it's a good one. I think the comparisons are useful in that it helps us think about the absolute, incredible magnitude of what's going on. It's staggering
School funding, that's another one. Is money the antidote to everything? No, of course not. But: when I see this--www.donorschoose.org, where teachers are giddy and grateful to get $200 grants to buy PAPER for their classrooms, I'm pretty confident that something's a little screwy.
10:05 AM, November 17, 2007
Post a Comment
<< Home