The Cost of War

(Hat tip to Catallarchy)

A new study by Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz pegs an estimate of the total cost of the Iraq war at $2 Trillion. How much is $2 trillion?

"I heard the Bellagio here in Las Vegas was in the 2-3 billion dollar range to build. $2 trillion is enough money to build 600-1000 Bellagios. On a gambling related note, if you bet $1 million on blackjack hands, and it only took 1 minute per hand, and you did it 40 hours per week, and lost EVERY one of the hands, it would take about 16 years to burn through the $2 trillion."

"Imagine if the new Washington MLB team had to play in a unique, brand new stadium for every home game for the next 35 seasons. For 2T, we could cover that."

"You could pay Dr. Evil's ransom 2,000 times."

"Bank of America claims to have 16,000 ATMs. If you visited each BOA ATM and took out $20 each time, you'd have to visit each BOA ATM 6,250,000 times."

"You'll be set with a 40 ouncer of malt liquor and a meal at Taco Bell every day of your life for next 913 million, 726 thousand, 27 years."

"If you made the average US wage in 2004 it would take you a little more than 56,103,263 years to make 2T.
Had you been collecting that amount since the split of the common ancestor between apes and humans, you would be about a tenth of the way there."

"Roughly a year's spending for the federal government. All of it. For one year."


Courtesy Reason Hit and Run.

But the winner comes from Catallarchy: "If I had 2 trillion dollars, I’d do 4 million chicks at the same time. And I think if I had 2 trillion dollars I could hook that up, cause chicks dig a dude with money."