What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy

That is the title of an article in today's New York Times by David Leonhardt and it's quite interesting.

I recently suggested that for a fraction of the Iraq war cost, America could eliminate the problem of homelessness considering the cost of the war represents over $500,000 for each homeless person in the country.

This was perhaps the most interesting fact from the article, just in case some of you forgot:

In the days before the war almost five years ago, the Pentagon estimated that it would cost about $50 billion. Democratic staff members in Congress largely agreed. Lawrence Lindsey, a White House economic adviser, was a bit more realistic, predicting that the cost could go as high as $200 billion, but President Bush fired him in part for saying so.

[...]

“This war has skewed our thinking about resources,” said Mr. Wallsten, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative-leaning research group. “In the context of the war, $20 billion is nothing.”

So very true and what a shame.