Cost of War Harms Children, Health Care

By Joel Wendland

The National Priorities Project estimates the cost of war in treasure has harmed the US in ways that are only now becoming clear.

In Pennsylvania, for example, the people of that state have so far paid close to $20 billion for the war. This bill has come at the expense of health care, educational, public safety and other crucial needs.

NPP reports that this same amount of money could have provided close to 5 million people with health care or could have built more than 1,000 elementary schools. It could have created more than 3 million slots in Head Start for pre-school aged children or hired 315,000 elementary school teachers.

In Indiana, the money the taxpayers of that state have spent on the war could have paid for provide more than 7 million homes with renewable energy resources or provided 3.7 million children with free health care.

North Carolina taxpayers could have hired more than 360,000 public safety officers or more than 200,000 port container inspectors with the money they have contributed to the Bush-Mc Cain war in Iraq.

West Virginians could have funded more than 20,000 affordable housing units for low-income working families or provided 650,000 children with health care if the war had not been launched.