War affects everyone, not just those directly involved in the fighting. This webpage is a simple attempt to demonstrate one of the more quantifiable effects of war: the financial burden it places on our tax dollars.The running tally of the war's cost is like a clock with a fast display of the seconds. The numbers almost go by in a blur. But what the site says about the AIDS epidemic is startling:
To the right you will find a running total of the amount of money spent by the US Government to finance the war in Iraq. This total is based on estimates from Congressional appropriations. Below the total are a number of different ways that we could have chosen to use the money. Try clicking on them; you might be surprised to learn what a difference we could have made.
Instead [of paying for the war], we could have fully funded world-wide AIDS
programs for 13 years.
Texs AIDS Network adds that a mere $217 million of that $137 billion would fund ADAP programs in the US in the new fiscal year that begins on October 1.
