Think you can spend $3 trillion better than President Bush?
“Just counting the zeroes on the $3 trillion price tag of the Iraq War is enough to induce hyperventilation. But what does $3 trillion really mean? It’s difficult even to comprehend a number that big. Well, try filling your shopping cart with what the cost of the Iraq War could buy: healthcare for every American? A new home for every subprime borrower now facing foreclosure? An Ivy League university? You haven’t even gotten started.” Browse through our departments or use the search box to find a product. Once you've found something you like, simply add it to your cart. If you want to add more than one, keep on clicking—after all, our government just loves to spend spend spend. (Can't locate something you want? Simply "add a product" and follow the steps.) When you're all finished, proceed to the checkout, where you'll be able to complete your order and e-mail your virtual gifts to friends. What are you waiting for? Get shopping! You can also get involved in your local community by attending a Tax Day 2008 event on April 15th, or hosting an Iraq Town Hall anytime in April. $3 TRILLION isn't just how much the Iraq War will cost our government, it's how much it will cost our sputtering economy. When the Bush administration launched this war, they claimed Americans would not have to make sacrifices. They even cut taxes with the help of a Republican-led Congress, rather than raising them as had been done historically in times of war. According to Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes in their book The Three Trillion Dollar War, we're fighting an unnecessary war on borrowed money. The war has caused our skyrocketing national debt. And more than anything else, the war has caused our recession. Here's how $3 trillion breaks down:
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Background articles
WaPo: Iraq War Will Cost Us $3 Trillion, and Much MoreSF Gate: Only World War II Was Costlier Than Iraq War The Nation: Iraq War Is Killing Our Economy... CNN: ...71% of Americans Agree HuffPo: Bush Says War Worth the Price Obama: War Costing Average Household $100/mo American Prospect: Bushonomics Becomes Mcainomics OpenLeft: Is There Anything Left to "Win" in Iraq? The Responsible Plan to End the War
Video credits
Director: Robert GreenwaldVP of Production: Leda Maliga Producer: Jason Zaro Associate Producer: Dallas Dunn Assistant Editor: Daniel Castillo Editor/Photography: Phillip Cruess Voice over: Jeff Stein Special Thanks: Jonathan Kim
Photo credits
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