09.30.04
What we could have done with the $87 billion we’re spending in Iraq
By Michael Moore
If you can’t get through this list without wanting to throw up, I’ll
understand. But pass it around anyway. This is the nail in the Iraq
War’s coffin for any sane, thinking individual, regardless of their
political stripe. (Thanks to Tom Paine.com and the Center for American
Progress.)
To get some perspective, here are some real-life comparisons about what
$87 billion means:
$87 Billion is more than the combined total of all State budget
deficits in the United States. The Bush administration proposed absolutely
zero funds to help states deal with these deficits, despite the fact that
Bush tax cuts drove down state revenues.
[Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities].
$87 Billion is enough to pay the 3.3 million people who have lost jobs
under George W. Bush $26,363.00 each! The unemployment benefits
extension passed by Congress at the beginning of this year provides
zero benefits to workers who exhausted their regular, state unemployment
benefits and cannot find work.
[Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities].
$87 Billion is 87 times the amount the Federal Government spends on
After School Programs. George W. Bush proposed a budget that reduces
the $1 billion for after-school programs to $600 million cutting off about
475,000 children from the program.
[Source: The Republican-dominated House Appropriations Committee].
$87 Billion is more that 10 times what the Government spends on all
Environmental Protection. The Bush administration requested just $7.6
billion for the entire Environmental Protection Agency. This included
a 32 percent cut to water quality grants, a 6 percent reduction in
enforcement staff, and a 50 percent cut to land acquisition and
conservation. [Source: Natural Resources Defense Council].
There you go. In black and white. A few million of you will receive
this letter. Please share the above with at least a half-dozen people today
and tomorrow. I, like you, do not want to see another approval rating
over 50 percent.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Filmmaker
