Remember when the president’s economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey was fired for estimating that the cost of the impending Iraq War might reach, at an “upper bound,” 100 to $200 billion?

And former deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, unwilling to acknowledge that the war might cost anything at all, assured Congress that Iraq’s oil revenue could finance its reconstruction? Those were the days . . .

As we reported in “Let the Eagle Soar” below, the Congressional Budget Office released a report Oct. 24 estimating that the total expenditures for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost over $2.4 trillion over the next ten years—or $8,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. We hear often enough that “freedom isn’t free,” but we’re not sure we’re getting our money’s worth—especially when so many important priorities are neglected here at home.

Prompted by the Boston Globe’s article “What Else Could $611 Billion Buy?”, we checked in with the National Priorities Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group. Using their handy Federal Budget Trade-Offs calculator, we ran some numbers to see how the Iraq War costs are affecting Louisiana, New York, California, and other important members of these United States. How much have these states’ taxes paid toward the war so far? With the $468+ billion spent (not counting $196 billion more requested for next year alone), how many children could receive health care? How many college students could receive scholarships? How many port inspectors could be hired? Here’s a hint:

Taxpayers in Louisiana will pay $3.5 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
• 352 New Elementary Schools
• 41,723 Affordable Housing Units
• 884,063 People with Health Care

Before looking at those numbers, check out this pie chart that shows the relative proportion of federal money (your income tax dollars) spent on (1) homeland security (including port inspections and airport security), (2) preventive measures such as securing nuclear materials abroad and international peacekeeping missions, and (3) the military. Guess who wins? Click here for further details.

The following calculations are based on each state’s share of taxes paid into federal funds revenues (per IRS data), including individual income taxes and corporate income taxes. Costs for health care, schools, etc., are based on national averages. Click here for further details about NPP’s calculations.

Louisiana
Taxpayers in Louisiana will pay $3.5 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
• 2,300,146 Children with Health Care
• 884,063 People with Health Care
• 352 New Elementary Schools
• 73,276 Elementary School Teachers
• 41,723 Affordable Housing Units
• 785,786 Scholarships for University Students
• 54,171 Port Container Inspectors

New York
Taxpayers in New York will pay $40.9 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
• 14,093,966 Children with Health Care
• 7,437,852 People with Health Care
• 2,848 New Elementary Schools
• 492,220 Elementary School Teachers
• 232,586 Affordable Housing Units
• 6,742,877 Scholarships for University Students
• 614,928 Port Container Inspectors

California
Taxpayers in California will pay $57.8 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
• 21,550,749 Children with Health Care
• 23,728,801 People with Health Care
• 4,381 New Elementary Schools
• 871,622 Elementary School Teachers
• 172,946 Affordable Housing Units
• 8,872,491 Scholarships for University Students
• 772,300 Port Container Inspectors

North Carolina
Taxpayers in North Carolina will pay $12.3 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
• 2,550,211 People with Health Care
• 5,678,916 Children with Health Care
• 1,358 New Elementary Schools
• 262,746 Elementary School Teachers
• 116,842 Affordable Housing Units
• 2,676,298 Scholarships for University Students
• 324,782 Public Safety Officers