# $5.9 billion per month **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946 "2006-02-17T14:50:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/41 "2006-02-17T19:28:17Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Don’t hate the cost of cleaning up after the storm, hate the hurricane. With all due respect, this is the steamingest load of horseshit. Hate the hurricane? The completely phony, unnecessary, manufactured on a foundation of lies hurricane? A hurricane is a natural disaster. There’s not one damn natural thing about the Iraq clusterfuck. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/42 "2006-02-17T19:56:19Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Surely it cannot be that difficult for you to wrap your mind around the idea that one can be simultaneously concerned about the total amount of spending and the small proportion allocated to the health and well-being of the actual people fighting on our behalf. That paragraph would have been better served if directed at the OP, since neither the OP nor her follow up posts (up until I posted) had adressed any such issues outside of disgust for the total bill. But thanks anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/43 "2006-02-17T20:09:00Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > With all due respect, this is the steamingest load of horseshit. Hate the hurricane? The completely phony, unnecessary, manufactured on a foundation of lies hurricane? A hurricane is a natural disaster. There’s not one damn natural thing about the Iraq clusterfuck. Relax. The analogy is good. We (dopers) had as much control over the invasion as we did over that hurricane. Now everyone is involved in the cleanup. You know, analogies aren’t meant to be taken literally. From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) analogy; > [@](#): > > Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/44 "2006-02-17T20:26:04Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I have done the calculation on how much this war is costing me, on a percapita basis; it’s very depressing. Since I earn somewhat above the median salary, I’m sure it’s even worse if I were to figure in tax rates. It’s even worse, because a large percentage of Americans don’t have jobs - they’re kids, or retired, or stay-at-home parents, or looking. Again, though, I must point out that the amount the Republican-run country is spending has _nothing_ to do with how much tax revenue they collect. So it’s costing future generations. Or, if you are/were the beneficiary of some social program, it’s costing you that. It may end up costing us our mortgage deductions eventually (that was one W floated out there). ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/45 "2006-02-17T20:31:59Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > That paragraph would have been better served if directed at the OP, since neither the OP nor her follow up posts (up until I posted) had adressed any such issues outside of disgust for the total bill. > But thanks anyway. This makes no sense. Why would it be better to direct a post clarifying how one might be disgusted by both the high total spending and low spending on service member safety and welfare to a person who expressed only the former concern instead of the person who tried an asinine attack with the latter? Why try to run from your position now? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/46 "2006-02-17T20:40:38Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Not having any more jets fly into skyscrapers: priceless Actually not priceless. 1 trillion? 10 trillion? At somepoint there’s an upper threshold that is pointless to cross. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/47 "2006-02-17T20:40:58Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Relax. You relax. > [@US](#): > > The analogy is good. We (dopers) had as much control over the invasion as we did over that hurricane. Now everyone is involved in the cleanup. > You know, analogies aren’t meant to be taken literally. Thanks, I appreciate your posting the definition of analogy because what with having a degree in English I’d never heard it before. The analogy is not good. Hurricanes and the Iraq clusterfuck are not similar enough for the analogy to hold. Hurricanes just happen. No one starts them. Wars don’t just happen and someone has to start them. OK, wait, I take it back. There is an analogy between hurricanes and the Iraq clusterfuck but it has nothing to do with how much control Dopers had over either of them. They are analogous only insofar as the piss-poor way the current administration has handled both of them. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/48 "2006-02-17T21:17:16Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > We’re involved, and this is the price of the aftermath. Don’t hate the cost of cleaning up after the storm, hate the hurricane. The storm isn’t over yet. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/49 "2006-02-17T21:28:12Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > The storm isn’t over yet. Oh man, I agree. . . **tdn** , in my personal opinion, I don’t see an exact end to this coming soon. Due to the nature of some of the threats, we’ll always have a presence: we’ll have to A) keep a watch over what develops and B) if it gets too big or ugly, nip it in the bud. Tripler Sorry, my crystal ball’s broken. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/50 "2006-02-17T21:33:25Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Oh man, I agree. . . > > **tdn** , in my personal opinion, I don’t see an exact end to this coming soon. Due to the nature of some of the threats, we’ll always have a presence: we’ll have to A) keep a watch over what develops and B) if it gets too big or ugly, nip it in the bud. > > Tripler > Sorry, my crystal ball’s broken. I say screw them and pull out today, it will cost less. Civil war will erupt the moment we leave. It can break out today, or 10 years from now. 5.5 billion a month x 10 years = bad news. Sorry to be so grim. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/51 "2006-02-17T21:39:47Z")
Yeah, what else are we going to spend that 110 billion dollars on? Universal Healthcare? Ridiculous! We need that money to invade countries that don’t pose a threat to us and 90% of the population wants us to get the hell out. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/52 "2006-02-17T21:59:06Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Hurricanes just happen. No one starts them. Yeah, they do. Some fuckin’ butterfly in China flaps its wings, next thing you know people in Tampa are pickin’ bits of double-wides outta their hair. Fuckin’ Chinese butterflies, man. Chinese. You think it’s a coincidence? Oughta bomb China for harbouring _those_ little fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/53 "2006-02-17T22:06:01Z")
I wonder what would have come of spending that kind of scratch on border control and security… ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/54 "2006-02-17T23:19:08Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > I wonder what would have come of spending that kind of scratch on border control and security… It’s like dealing with prison inmates. They’ll always find a crack in the system to do their deeds. Best we can hope for is to relegate terrorism to a nuisance. Of course when Kerry says something to that effect he gets crucified. One of my biggest beefs with Bush’s handling of the WOT, is the language that suggests that Terrorism can actually be eliminated. Never going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/55 "2006-02-18T02:06:10Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > The analogy is not good. Hurricanes and the Iraq clusterfuck are not similar enough for the analogy to hold. Hurricanes just happen. No one starts them. Wars don’t just happen and someone has to start them. > > OK, wait, I take it back. There is an analogy between hurricanes and the Iraq clusterfuck but it has nothing to do with how much control Dopers had over either of them. They are analogous only insofar as the piss-poor way the current administration has handled both of them. For a person educated in the literary arts, I would figure you would appreciate the subtle parallels drawn by comparing a the turmoil of a hurricane and an armed conflict. Tripler Sheesh. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/56 "2006-02-18T02:34:54Z")
Those Pollyannas and bed-wetters who were so anxious to invade Iraq from the get-go are now coming up with more and more elaborate excuses as to why it really was a good idea and still is so. Those of us who opposed this cluster-fuck from the start are validated more and more with every passing day. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/57 "2006-02-18T02:44:12Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > For a person educated in the literary arts, I would figure you would appreciate the subtle parallels drawn by comparing a the turmoil of a hurricane and an armed conflict. Look, I get it, OK? The Iraq war and hurricanes, both big destructive messes that leave enormous costs in their wakes. Genius comparison. Spot on. Bravo. The insurmountable difference between the two is that the former was completely avoidable and the latter isn’t. Drawing the analogy allows for the impression that both were unavoidable, and whether it means anything or not in the greater picture I have no interest in allowing that impression to go unchallenged. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/58 "2006-02-18T03:55:19Z")
There are also the long run costs associated with payments and medical care for veterans. So we’re spending some $110 billion/yr now. Ultimately, total costs are estimated to top [2 trillion dollars](http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0110/dailyUpdate.html). White House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsey made the mistake of putting out an estimate of the War’s cost in Sep, 2002: [He said it would be as much as $100 - $200 billion](http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/iraqquotes_web.htm). He was insufficiently optimistic for the Republican noise machine: his untimely candor cost him his job. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/59 "2006-02-18T04:30:49Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Perhaps they are miffed at the nature of the spending. For example, the Coalition Provisional Authority flat lost $8 billion dollars. Pentagon Audits have found $1 billion in questionable costs and $442 million in unsupported costs on the part of Halliburton. > > Yet, when it comes to the troops, it was initially decided that spending less than $240 million on body armor was not worth the cost. He has fairly consistently targeted military benefits for cuts, such as hazard pay, medical benefits, and survivors benefits. > > Surely it cannot be that difficult for you to wrap your mind around the idea that one can be simultaneously concerned about the total amount of spending and the small proportion allocated to the health and well-being of the actual people fighting on our behalf. So much for “support our troops”, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946/60 "2006-02-18T04:53:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So much for “support our troops”, huh? Like Muthahump said, there is no cost too great to be borne so that we can be safe. If that means throwing some warm bodies into the grinder, so be it. He’s willing to type whatever he has to on the internet to help support Daddy Bush . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-9-billion-per-month/344946.md?page=4)