OT: An Interesting Factoid

[pmulcahy11b]

For the money the US has spent in fighting the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, we could have built each citizen of those countries a $300,000 home -- and the powerplants and water facilities they would need for those homes. Makes you wonder if that would have made a better impression on those people...

Heard that on MSNBC, BTW.

[headquarters]

another one

I remember the war in Jugoslavia in 1999.It costed 30 billion dollars app.5 Years later they had managed to raise 3 billion for peacetime reconstruction etc ..

I am not a big US war effort fan ,but the lack of planning for winning the peace has always baffled me.US victory is pretty much a foregone conclusion -but what then

I really hope things work out !

[cavtroop]

Thats unpossible.

28 million Iraqi's x 300,000 = 8,400,000,000,000 (thats 8.4 trillion)

now

28 million Iraqi's x 30,000 = 840,000,000,000 (840 billion), is much closer to reality (the cost was 673B when I just checked, just for Iraq)

Still, its an interesting point, as 30k is alot of moolah for someone in the 3rd world....

[kato13]

Thats unpossible.
28 million Iraqi's x 300,000 = 8,400,000,000,000 (thats 8.4 trillion)

Another case of the media not being able to do simple math. How could that have gotten past even basic fact checking. Unless it was a pundit who would never expect someone to check.

[pmulcahy11b]

Another case of the media not being able to do simple math. How could that have gotten past even basic fact checking. Unless it was a pundit who would never expect someone to check.

Hmmmm...it's also a case of me not doing basic math...damn that's embarrassing...

[kato13]

Hmmmm...it's also a case of me not doing basic math...damn that's embarrassing...

When we were kids they would not have made that mistake. SO we trust sometimes when we shouldn't. No biggie.

[Cdnwolf]

Well this is what $30,000 USD will get you in Iraq.

[Cdnwolf]

And this is what $30,000 will get you in the USA.

[pmulcahy11b]

And this is what $30,000 will get you in the USA.

Yeah, but you can use it for a Cash-for-Clunkers trade-in!

[Cdnwolf]

That was what he traded his clunker in for!!!

[Cdnwolf]

That was what he traded his clunker in for!!! Interesting concept that cash for clunkers program... Get people who have no money or bad credit to invest in new cars and then when they default have foreclosure and repo's on all the vehicles.

Hey wait a minute... isn't that what happened in the housing market

[Targan]

And this is what $30,000 will get you in the USA.

Is that satirical or does a piece of crap ride like that cost US$30,000 In Australia US$30,000 would get you an okay new car or a pretty sweet used car.

[natehale1971]

That was what he traded his clunker in for!!! Interesting concept that cash for clunkers program... Get people who have no money or bad credit to invest in new cars and then when they default have foreclosure and repo's on all the vehicles.

Hey wait a minute... isn't that what happened in the housing market

YUP! Exactly. The Congress forced the bankers to lower their standards for giving the morgages (Barney Frank and another Democratic Congressman whose name I can't remember off-hand wrote the legislation) because they claimed the standards were racist. The housing market and other problems the economy has suffered can be tracked back to policies that came into being after the change over in Congress in 2006.

[kato13]

Sorry guys getting too purely political. I am not trying to stifle comments, I just know that political discussions get heated and causes rifts. Trying hard to prevent that.

Back to the cars. 30k should get you a nice basic new car (including taxes). It would get you a very nice used car.

[Targan]

Back to the cars. 30k should get you a nice basic new car (including taxes). It would get you a very nice used car.

Phew! Thanks for the clarification.

Of course I'm more interested in motorcycles and US$30,000 would buy me a very nice bike, new or used. Mmm, wouldn't mind getting me a Triumph Speed Triple or a Buell, but I think I'll have to get a 1000cc Kawasaki in the mean time until my bank balance ios looking a little more healthy.