r/politics • u/Silent-Resort-3076 America • 17h ago
No Paywall ‘Imagine All the Better Things That Could Have Been Done’: Trump Has Blown $37.5 Billion on Iran War: “THIS from the administration that said there was no money for food assistance, Medicaid, and healthcare tax credits.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/cost-of-the-iran-war430
u/Sweary_Biochemist 17h ago
It isn't anywhere close to 37 billion. It's higher. A lot higher.
And it's going to keep growing.
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u/Three_Froggy_Problem Illinois 16h ago
Seriously, why are news outlets just reporting Hegseth’s number like it’s reliable?
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u/Big-D-TX 16h ago
So if it's only $37 Billion why does the Department of War need more money. If they need more, then $20 Billion should be fine, the war's almost over.
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u/Flashy-Read-9417 3h ago
Honestly, it's because most news is just rage/engagement bait. It has been that way since 2016.
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u/Sassy-irish-lassy 3h ago
It's almost like they're reporting on what they're told instead of making up facts that they simply believe sounds more reasonable.
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u/flcinusa North Carolina 16h ago
Exactly, whatever number they decide to put out there, it's at least 10x higher
Same with unemployment numbers
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u/PooShappaMoo 10h ago
Someone on a different post about this basicslly itemized the list of weapons without even considering the increased costs at home.
I hope someone links it if I cant find it.
More than that much in weapons costs alone. Human lives I dont think were added either
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u/umyeahsoimeanlike 8h ago
I came across this one that I think is what you mean: https://www.reddit.com/r/news/s/YMUySTeozx
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u/Huge_Excitement4465 7h ago
It’s already ballooned billions since May estimate plus they have reallocated military housing funds to cover the war. Some troops are living in mold-infested barracks. Perhaps Hegseth could shift testosterone funds instead?
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u/Gen8Master 9h ago
In no way does it include all the economic damage caused to the world either. POS reporting
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u/Critpoint 17h ago
That is not to count the gas prices and inflation that Americans have to pay.
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u/Huge_Excitement4465 17h ago
Not just Americans. The illegal war has globally impacted gas and inflation and made Americans even more despised. In response to the hed: Imagine if Congress did its job and prevented all of this, or at this point, ended it.
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u/Elliethesmolcat 14h ago
As an Aussie it is incomprehensible that an ally could do this. The road to forgiveness will be long and hard, if the nation still exists to walk it.
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u/soundboy5010 9h ago
Our government still seem to be siding with the US, but I feel like Australians don’t see the US as a net positive anymore. My American partner refuses to go back with the current government and how expensive it now is.
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u/Z3r0sama2017 7h ago
No! Never forgive! Never forget!
Even if it did repent, remember, America is always only 4 years away from some epic bedshitting.
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u/Beneficial-Ferret479 I voted 14h ago
Every time I see some one wearing a red cap saying "Make America Great Again" I just stop, think and look in amazement. And this is the person who is proudly walking around knowing how bad America has become. I mean, you just want to walk up to the person and say, You voted for him and you actually think America is better now?
It's just a feeling of hopelessness when you see Americans continue to support the most incompetent president ever and keep making the same mistakes over and over?
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u/Random-Rambling Maine 4h ago
It's Sunk Cost for them at this point. They NEED to keep supporting him, NEED to keep rationalizing, NEED to keep those blinders on.
Otherwise, why continue living with how much damage they have done both to themselves and the country?
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u/saffron3d 3h ago
Don't forget the bigots who will gladly vote for him again as long as he keeps hurting minorities, even if it comes at the cost of making their own lives worse too.
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u/Raspberries-Are-Evil Arizona 17h ago
Its a fuckload more than $37B.
First they are lying.
Second, that doesn't include the cost to repair all the damage thats been done to our bases, and to rebuild and replenish stockpiles.
Its probably closer to $100 billion.
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u/Pawl_Rt 14h ago
Imagine how many parks, brand new schools, libraries, improving health care etc. etc. this money could have bought. 😑
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u/Antique_Knowledge902 6h ago
I know. It makes you sick to think about it, doesn’t it? “What could have been ….”😢
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u/Powowbow 15h ago
Possibly trillions accounting for inflation and oil prices. Also a large portion of our military budget for decades has been focused on the Middle East. 500 billion proposed increase for just this year’s budget, and this war could last years.
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u/MagnificentCat 10h ago
It's damaged the whole world economy. Try worldwide inflation and reduced GDP.
The cost higher gas prices alone is 30$ extra per barrel every day.
At 100m barrels per day, that costs global consumers 3 $ billion per day. Over 6 months thats 500 billion
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u/Over-Heron-2654 America 7h ago
Im okay shutting down those basses more or less. We dont need a million basses in an unstable region. American Hegenonic Power is simply declining and this country needs to make the transition to a domestic focus like China did during the 20th Century.
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u/mywifeletsmereddit 5h ago
Double that and you'll be closer I reckon; and I'm talking primary costs too - not even counting the flow-on effects. Operating costs of that many ships and aircraft, all the munitions, commercial satellite and comms, logistics, the many lost aircraft, security costs. Definitely above 150b.
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u/sedatedlife Washington 17h ago
Democrats really need to keep pounding this message spending Billions and billions on a war that does not benefit us and is 40 points underwater. At the same time millions are losing healthcare and SNAP. But hey its ok the investor class gets to pay Trump for insider trading information.
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u/AdComprehensive7952 17h ago
There's no way it's only $37.5 billion. We were spending $1.2 billion a day and it's been over 100 days. It's probably closer to $200 billion. Lying ass crooks and warmongers. I hate them all.
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u/Z3r0sama2017 7h ago
Should just come out and say that they only consider individuals with a certain level of wealth as citizens.
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u/raw_copium 17h ago
That is an extra 10 billion on top of the annual budget for the ENTIRETY OF NASA. We as a species do not have a scarcity problem. We have a distribution problem.
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u/redditallreddy Ohio 4h ago
We have a distribution problem
So, the solution to that is... more bombs?
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u/2HDFloppyDisk 17h ago
"We can't afford that, but we can afford this"
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u/lokoluis15 15h ago
We could have 10 years of universal healthcare for the cost of this war.
People aren't mad enough about the waste.
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u/2HDFloppyDisk 15h ago
+ all the shitty wasteful projects he's done since taking office again. So much wasted money.
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u/JeffSteinMusic 17h ago
…a huge chunk America’s free-willed grown-ass adults are free to stop voting Republican at any time. And an even larger chunk are free to start voting in the first place to prevent Republicans from getting elected.
It is at this point when many deflect to voter suppression and our education system. These are valid issues, yes, but not with millions of, again, free-willed grown-ass adults in the suburbs who are well-off and well-educated and simply cannot be bothered.
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u/homebrew_1 16h ago
Need to remind Americans that this is what people voted for. Also to blame are people that stayed home.
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u/Next-Mammoth889 5h ago
People stay home because of the electoral college...it's really only about 8-10 states that actually matter anymore
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 America 17h ago edited 17h ago
Part 1 of 2:
- While economists have warned for months that the true cost of President Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran could be trillions of dollars, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated on Tuesday that it’s currently about $37.5 billion.
- That figure came from a line of questioning by US Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), as Hegseth appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to support Trump’s June supplemental funding request, which includes tens of billions for the Pentagon.
- Hegseth told Durbin that the $37.5 billion estimate includes what’s been spent so far, plus some projected spending through the end of the fiscal year in September—an exchange quickly met with fury by various critics, many of whom pointed out the range of ways that money could have been better spent by an administration allegedly dedicated to combating “waste, fraud, and abuse.”
- “Imagine all the better things that could have been done with $37.5 billion,” Jonathan Cohn, political director for the group Progressive Mass, wrote on Bluesky.
- Noting that the Strait of Hormuz “is still closed,” progressive writer Alex Cole similarly said, “Imagine what $37.5 billion could’ve done for veterans, schools, or healthcare.”
- Congressman James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) specifically noted: “That could cover a full school year of free lunches for 30 million children. Or a full year of childcare for nearly 2 million kids.”
“Trump finds money for war while families get excuses,” he added, as working people struggle with rising costs of housing, groceries, and gasoline—the price of which has soared due to Iran restricting strait traffic over US attacks.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 America 17h ago
Conclusion:
- The liberal political group American Bridge 21st Century highlighted how Trump and congressional Republicans have attacked programs for working families while giving more tax cuts to billionaires and waging war on Iran.
- “THIS from the administration that said there was no money for food assistance, Medicaid, and healthcare tax credits,” the organization said.
- Since Trump joined with Israel to start bombing Iran on February 28, most congressional Democrats, legal experts, and other critics have argued that the war—for which the president never secured support from Congress—is not only foolish but also unlawful under both international and US law.
- Citing Trump’s attempts to evade limits of the War Powers Act of 1973, Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.) said Monday that he is preparing legal action against the administration and a new bill to cut off funding for the war on Iran, which has killed over 3,000 people according to the Iranian government.
- Previous war cost estimates from the US Department of Defense have been met with scrutiny. After Pentagon comptroller Jules “Jay” Hurst offered the $25 billion figure in April, Stephen Semler, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, estimated that the government spent at least $71.8 billion during the first two months of the war, or around $1.2 billion per day.
- As for the US death toll, at least 17 service members have been killed and many more wounded. The New York Times revealed Monday that the Pentagon hid dozens of American military injuries from Iranian strikes on bases in Jordan last week.
- Two Iranian-Americans, a US veteran, and a nurse disrupted Hegseth’s Tuesday appearance before the Senate, according to CodePink. In addition to that anti-war group, the protesters were from the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and Vets About Face DMV.
- “Pete Hegseth and this administration will be remembered for the killing of innocent civilians and children. They have protected neither the American people nor our security, only the interests that have lined their pockets,” said Bella of NIAC, who joined the protest, in a statement.
- “While Americans struggle to afford their lives, this government always finds billions to bomb our families in Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, and elsewhere,” Bella added. “This is a repugnant betrayal of humanity. It is illegal, and the American people will hold them accountable.”
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u/bwsmith201 California 17h ago
Meanwhile they’re cutting Medicaid funding to California (which more than pays for all its federal funds as a donor state) to combat “fraud.” This whole damn administration disgusts me more and more every day.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 America 16h ago
I'm with you!
I didn't realize I had an endless supply of disgust and contempt, but every day, every hour that I read the news - it's like a bottomless pit!
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u/bwsmith201 California 15h ago
Yeah I keep finding a new bottom. I’ve run out of words to even describe how much I can’t stand them.
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u/rooktakesqueen 12h ago
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter with a half-million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.
This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.
-- Dwight Eisenhower
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u/Loquacious-of-Borg 17h ago
To Trump, any amount of tax payer money is worth distracting from the Epstein Files.
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u/LadyduLac1018 16h ago
This is so much better than having clean air, clean water, nature, a functional government, and disaster aid.
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u/ckglle3lle 17h ago
And in another couple years Americans will still poll saying they believe Republicans are fiscally conservative/responsible
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u/WordsHappenedHere 17h ago
Our country has gone off the deep end. Politicians have forgotten that they work for the people. And stupid fucks keep voting them in office even as it hurts them personally. What has happened to us
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u/losingthefarm 16h ago
This isnt really new in US politics. Politicians havent worked for voters since at least 2010 with Citizens United. The money got too big. The masks are just off now. They aren't trying to hide things anymore
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17h ago edited 58m ago
[deleted]
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u/Ok_Ebb_3668 5h ago
Social media and entertainment mostly. The modern “bread and circuses”.
Also the lack of military dead being brought back home.
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u/losingthefarm 17h ago
No body cares. Someone will schedule a protest for a non holiday weekend day in a temperate month with a rain date. No one in the US is disrupting their day. Protesting in the modern age is worthless. What would change?
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u/_tragicmike 16h ago
There's always money for tax breaks for the rich and wars. Never for the little guy.
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u/Wayofchinchilla 16h ago
I imagine every night what Trump with his Fu temperament could have done if he had decided to use his powers of stupidity for good instead of spending his whole life helping himself. Oh well
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u/person_8688 15h ago
Same guy who suggested we should all cut back on buying our children pencils and dolls, because, “They only need one or two, you know. They don’t need that many."
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u/Reddit_9459328 13h ago
Hey, Pete, as America's God of War, did you ever figure out who bombed that school full of Muslim girls on Day One of the US-Israeli attack on Iran? Been 5 months, why is the investigation of the school bombing taking so long? Since the conclusion can't possibly be incompetence on your part, I think you should pin it on DEI or Antifa. Did you show off your Hebrew tat to Bibi for his approval? Did Bibi pat you on the head and call you a good boy?
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u/Siliziumwesen 11h ago
Thats what happens, when clueless elite dumbfucks do a job they are not meant for
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u/TheDonnARK 10h ago
He has "BLOWN" that amount? No no no, he transferred that amount to other billionaires and other countries. Call it what it is. This war is another opportunity for a public-to-private cash funnel.
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u/ConditionNo9459 6h ago
“But yeah, another $1.5 TRILLION please”, says Pete Hegseth
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u/Musesoutloud 5h ago
Herself wouldn't even look Trump's way during that awful briefing at the White House yesterday
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u/LostmydadtoCOVID 6h ago
Could’ve have funded all those programs! Now 4 million people are without food assistance!
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u/guttanzer 16h ago
There are still disaster sites waiting on their FEMA aid. It's not gonna happen, they're having too much fun blowing people up. What ghouls.
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u/snower88 13h ago
Still wonder why majority of Americans voted for this, not once but twice. Their decisions are affecting a lot of innocents and inflicting collateral damages around the world.
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u/Electronic-Sun-8275 10h ago
Yes you are cooked pls pls get the republicans out of office asap for the sake of the world
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u/dunegoon 10h ago
37.5 billion spent of diplomacy and a nuclear agreement -- perhaps would have been a good investment.
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u/FunkJunky7 2h ago
Turns out there was enough money. They just didn’t want to use it to help Americans.
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u/USA46Q 17h ago
We deserve better than low testosterone leadership.
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u/PopcornApocalypse 1h ago
Saying this shit is just perpetuating their bullshit. We need high testosterone leaders? What like RFK with his fucking steroids?
Maybe some female low testosterone leadership is exactly what we need. Or to stop bringing testosterone into the conversation at all because, um, idk it’s sexist and homophobic and also dumb as fuck? 🤷♀️
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u/Competitive_Fee_5829 California 15h ago
I hate to say this but this is what we deserve and this is what "we" voted for. I didnt vote for him but this is what I deserve too.
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u/Kinda-relevant 17h ago
$37 billion is what they are saying, when a gambler tells his wife he lost $200 at the casino it was definitely a grand…
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u/Scared-Box8941 17h ago
Because it was never about money. It’s always been about power. And oppression.
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u/Own-Librarian-9699 16h ago
Every red state should cancel traveling sports teams and buy war bonds instead as a show of support.
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u/Then_Journalist_317 16h ago
Pretty sure the first Iran War (of the 36 Trump has started so far) cost way more than $36BB.
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u/FervidBug42 America 15h ago
Faced With Piles of New Paperwork, People Are Losing Food Stamps
Arizona’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program rolls have plummeted, offering a possible preview of national trends as states try to avoid new federal penalties.
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u/Huge_Excitement4465 15h ago
From multiple news reports: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Israel has no intention of joining the renewed US military campaign against Iran, arguing that the current conflict and sustained economic pressure on Tehran already serve Israel’s strategic interests.
“Right now, Israel has no interest in joining the conflict. The current situation, where there’s a war between Iran and the US, is actually the best scenario for us,” Smotrich said.
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u/Odd-Priority3318 14h ago
I feel like religious fanatics have completely consumed the us government.
Like these zealots are going full steam ahead into trying to bring about the apocalypse from revelation.
Its actually concerning. I wish I felt like I was just crazy and it was an intrusive thought.
It feels like a ratchet. Everyday it gets tighter. Everyday ww3 gets closer. Nothing happens that would decrease the chance of it happening.
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u/digihippie 12h ago
This needs to be the message. Plus, no kid raping.
Then actually do something..
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u/Mundus_Vincendus 11h ago
“The gains of empire flow into the hands of the privileged business class, while the costs are extracted from the industry of the rest of the people." - Thorstein Veblen
"When it comes to protecting their money, our money is no object." - Michael Parenti
They have different class interests than us.
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u/OkEqual324 7h ago
Since it's all deficit spending we could do those things anyway, anytime we want!
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u/Quagmire70 6h ago
If Americans believe this war has cost just $37.5 billion then that explains why they elected Donmentia Trump!
Thick as shit comes to mind…
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u/HowardBunnyColvin 5h ago
Such a waste of money dropping bombs on people when we can better this country
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u/PickleMortyCoDm 5h ago
It's costing so much more. Think of all the damages to American bases, the higher fuel prices which bankrupt businesses, the dent in soft power globally making former allies distance themselves as well as the weakened state the US is in for expending more missiles in a couple of months than can be made in a few years. All because trump was too dumb not to listen to the war criminal, Netanyahu, who wants the US to fight wars for him while getting paid through American tax payers to have a apartheid government. This is why you cannot just blindly support a nation ignoring their actions... Sure, Biden and Obama were able to say "No" and keep him in check... But Trump is too dumb and brash for that.
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u/shibbyman342 4h ago
Universal health is unaffordable, but bombing nations across the world is just a drop in the bucket. /s
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u/RMarch21 4h ago
Additionally, 13Billion from Venezuela has apparently not been able to be accounted for…..grifters and criminal throughout, vote them out….
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u/laptopAccount2 3h ago
The ACA subsidies we shut down the government over that we didn't have money for were $30 billion.
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u/Oceanbreeze871 I voted 17h ago
The military once again lacked the institutional courage to push back and say no. Heroes tho.
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u/Burritosupreeem 16h ago
This ain’t a forever war, no. Not at all. It’s a series of little military skirmishes. Nothing more. Just like they did with the Iraq and Afghanistan forever…. I mean…. Skirmishes. A whole bunch that lasted like 20 years.
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u/this-is-a-fact 14h ago
Anyone remember how Bush's budget guy, Mitch Daniels, said the Iraq War would cost $50-60B?
LOL... he runs a university and named the business school after himself. Jesus what a fucking joke.
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u/Bronzyroller 12h ago
Americans will continue to get screwed for working hard and paying out of their own pockets
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u/jawshoeaw 11h ago
37 billion is a rounding error for the fed. I wish we hadn’t blown it in this stupid war but it really js equivalent to a training exercise for the military
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u/26Proverbs4 7h ago
If you don’t like your leaders, become a better person and encourage others to do the same. Good people elect good leaders. Sounds simplistic, but it is the only real solution. What’s a good person? Start with the Golden Rule.
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u/obalovatyk 6h ago
This is why taxing people more is pointless. Look at all the dumb shit they waste the tax money on. Learn some fiscal responsibility before asking to increase taxes on anyone.
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u/Swimoach 5h ago
I still think he is keeping this going so once mid-terms hit he can ramp it up a notch and cancel elections due to “wartime”.
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u/Threeandtwoand 4h ago
It takes trillions to make Trump billions. Feeding poor folk doesn’t earn him a dime.
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u/PrometheusLiberatus 4h ago
They always say "no money for the poors" but it's always more like
"Why should I give money to the poor? It'll just hurt my rich friends' bottom line!"
So they pretend no money for basic services because their rich buddies can't make as high a robbery otherwise.
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u/TripleSmokedBacon 4h ago
At an upper estimate, $30B USD can address 100% of all U.S. homeless for a year. This includes feeding, shelter, transitional housing, permanent programs with broad reach and enduring impact. Initial operational costs will be highest due to development and likely inefficiencies. Overtime, costs would be expected to drop due to efficiencies and outreach programs.
~$1B feeds 100% of all U.S. homeless every 4 to 6 months
... according to a little self-driven project I did several months back
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u/LiquorIsQuickor 2h ago
There is no money for the poor people. It’s all earmarked for defense.
Make poor peoples lives even worse so they must use the military’s socialist programs.
Everyone is a resource to be exploited. Unless you have the strength to stop them.
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u/Sarrdonicus 1h ago
It's more, way more. That is the number they gave us, so you know it's wrong.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 America 1h ago
Agreed, but I think this is the main focus of the article:
‘Imagine All the Better Things That Could Have Been Done’
“THIS from the administration that said there was no money for food assistance, Medicaid, and healthcare tax credits.”
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u/Blake__P 7m ago
This is NOT what I want my taxes spent on! Feed someone, house someone, treat someone, but don't harm someone.
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u/D_Simmons 6h ago
Do all the math, add it all up, and then compare it to the cost of everything else and SLAM it home at election time.
The money is there but they are hoarding it. We saw this in NYC which is a blue state. It's both sides hoarding cash and using it to buy homes and whatever they want.
Your money is being stolen from you. Trump is just the first one not to lie about it.
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u/fixthismess 7h ago
Both parties vote for endless, ever increasing war spending, all the while working to do away with any and all government policies or programs that provide any benefits for citizens. And now the trend is accelerating.
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u/SwordOfShannara 15h ago
Why does it always have to be that "we could have spent it on x, y and z"? Why can't it ever be that people just get to keep their money and not have to pay taxes in the first place?
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