What would you do with $2.9 TRILLION?

[Lokki 7]

Re: Re: What would you do with $2.9 TRILLION?

Obviously i would hate to break into the usual anti US diatribes but this is massively incorrect. The 2.9 trillion is the total US Budget not the defence budget, which is 716 biliion (of which 250 billion is a special addition for the Iraq and Afghanistan operation. Yes it is a lot of money but why let facts get in the way of a good rant. Perhaps you should also note that the US Govt actually spends more per person on healthcare than the UK.

Apologies. I implied the WHOLE budget was going on "Defense" when in fact it is ONLY $716 Billion dollars in one year. That is significantly greater than the entire GDP of Australia, spent in one year on defence of a nation. A nation that chose to go to war against a nation that was no threat whatsoever. This war is causing the health budget to be cut, or do you believe that Americans are healthy enough already?

 

[Eastleigh Seagull]

you didnt imply at all. You stated it was all going on defence.
Other facts include the US spending more on AIDS prevention and research than the GDP of most African countries (5.5bn)- but that doesnt make a good story does it.
Yes the US has a large military budget - it always has and it covers up our deficiencies in that area. The large budget also helped us out a tad through many times last century.
the health budget is being cut in real terms (1% increase but the cut is being made up by the state governemnts increasing above inflation) - along with every other area but the figures remain huge and as I said they spend more per person than the UK.
Like a cheap tabloid journalist you dont appear to let the facts get in the way.

 

[Buzzer]

$2.9 trillion?

I'd buy a big turnip in the country.

 

[Bad Ash]

Isn't that actually £2.9 billion (i.e. 2.9 million million) in English money?

 

[Lokki 7]

you didnt imply at all. You stated it was all going on defence.
Other facts include the US spending more on AIDS prevention and research than the GDP of most African countries (5.5bn)- but that doesnt make a good story does it.
Yes the US has a large military budget - it always has and it covers up our deficiencies in that area. The large budget also helped us out a tad through many times last century.
the health budget is being cut in real terms (1% increase but the cut is being made up by the state governemnts increasing above inflation) - along with every other area but the figures remain huge and as I said they spend more per person than the UK.
Like a cheap tabloid journalist you dont appear to let the facts get in the way.

So let me get this straight. 1) You think US military spending is appropriate at these levels?
2) You think the world is a better place as a result?
3) You are not concerned about a cut in the health budget to fund sending 21,500 extra troops to Iraq?

As for the billions the US has earmarked for Aids prevention, a lot more good would be achieved if they instead relaxed patent rules. The US is blocking implementation of the 2001 Doha agreement, that called for loosened patent rules to facilitate exports of affordable antiretroviral drugs. "Negotiators freely admitted to journalists that the U.S. resistance to generic drugs was being driven by the pharmaceutical company lobby." Who help fund the Bush election campaign. Yep, good work.

Do you also think we are winning the war on terror?

 

[Buzzer]

Isn't that actually £2.9 billion (i.e. 2.9 million million) in English money?

Yep but I seem to recall that the IEEE who have enormous influence in scientific circles, recommended the universal adoption of the american billion some years ago.

It certainly is the norm now for all mention of billions in the UK refer to thousand millions.

Still a big number but not as big as a googolplex...or the King of big numbers: Graham's number.

 

[Trufflehound]

Isn't that actually £2.9 billion (i.e. 2.9 million million) in English money?

No. With the current Dollar-to-Pound exchange rate, it's about 45p.

 

[Trufflehound]

I would build a by-pass around John Prescott. That would use most of it.

 

[Blackadder]

I'd probably come off "on-call" and cut down on my overtime.

 

[Gritt23]

2.9 trillion!

I'd spend it on;
booze
masses of porn
lap dancers
extremely expensive cars
yachts

... and I'll then just waste the rest.

 

[beorhthelm]

So let me get this straight.
1) You think US military spending is appropriate at these levels?
2) You think the world is a better place as a result?
3) You are not concerned about a cut in the health budget to fund sending 21,500 extra troops to Iraq?

1) thats their business.
2) Find a year in history when there wasnt a conflict somewhere in the world. Its in our nature to fight, get over it.
3) i refer you to number 1.

seriously why do people beat on about this sort of thing?
and where do you think government spending actually goes? just about all of it goes into the economy, with some of it spent overseas, usually into countries that will buy back services and goods from the original country.

 

[Lokki 7]

and where do you think government spending actually goes? just about all of it goes into the economy, with some of it spent overseas, usually into countries that will buy back services and goods from the original country.

Most meaningless and pointless post ever?

 

[Buzzer]

Most meaningless and pointless post ever?

Not really.

By and large, Americans are healthy. The unhealthy ones are unhealthy by choice.

Compare and contrast with China, North Korea, former Soviet states, India, Pakistan, Indonesia et al.

I presume you'll be making as big a song and dance about the allocation of those countries budgets?

 

[Marshy]

I'd work on the principle of fixing my own country first - before bigging myself up and aiming to fix the world...

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

It's impossible to imagine just how much $2,900,000,000,000 really is. If you had it, what would you do with it? Think of the hospitals, schools, roads, sea defences, wind farms etc you could build. The lives you could improve, the diseases you could eradicate. Think of all the countless ways you could improve the environment, the world. Care for the sick, homes for the homeless, a roof for the South stand. One person does have this horrendous dilemma and what does he choose to spend it on? The 2007 US military budget, partly funded by a further cut in the already pitifully low health care budget.

Trouble is, most yanks have a horribly simplistic view of the world and ever since 9/11 the hawks have been given a blank cheque which they've abused mercilessly with the catch-all justification of 'the war against terror'. Same in this country, from that puerile tanks around Heathrow softening-up exercise just before the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq to the transparently fake WMD claims aimed at justifying regime change there. Like the placards say, we're creating terrorists faster than we can kill them. Bush and Blair are the true war criminals of our time. And their respective countries not having the balls to put them on trial, or even kick them out of office, is just shameful.

 

[Buzzer]

Re: Re: What would you do with $2.9 TRILLION?

Trouble is, most yanks have a horribly simplistic view of the world and ever since 9/11 the hawks have been given a blank cheque which they've abused mercilessly with the catch-all justification of 'the war against terror'.

BUT....

a) it's their money
b) the country is a democracy. The voters can (and probably will vote Bush out)
c) the country has one of the highest standards of living in the world. It's hardly a guns v butter issue a propos Nazi Germany. Americans will still get fatter and richer.

Totally agree with the second part. Bush and Blair ought to be up for war crimes but the victors always write the history don't they?

After all, NATO did some absolutely despicable things in the former Yugoslavia to the Serbs that, if the Serbs had done to the Croats or Muslims, would have had the decision makers up before a war crimes tribunal. e.g. bombing trains, targetted bombings of hospitals and television stations, the illegal annexing of Macedonia and the subsequent blind eye turned to the ethnic cleansing of Serbs in that region. That isn't to say that the Serbs were innocent either. There were horrific things done by all parties - just saying that what is happening in Iraq ain't new. Just hones the lying, killing, cheating and warmongering to a fine art.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Re: Re: Re: What would you do with $2.9 TRILLION?

BUT....

a) it's their money
b) the country is a democracy. The voters can (and probably will vote Bush out)
c) the country has one of the highest standards of living in the world. It's hardly a guns v butter issue a propos Nazi Germany. Americans will still get fatter and richer.

Well all the Americans I know worry about things like Health Care Schemes. In fact, it's about the only thing they do worry about so far as I can see.

Simple tap-in for the Democrats.

 

[Lokki 7]

By and large, Americans are healthy. The unhealthy ones are unhealthy by choice.

1 in 3 develop cancer.

Compare and contrast with China, North Korea, former Soviet states, India, Pakistan, Indonesia et al.

So you think the US military budget is reasonable, and could not be better spent on other projects to promote human well being? Same argument can be applied to all of the above, the US just happens to be the worst and most topical example. Costa Rica for example has no armed forces, and one of the highest literacy rates in the developing world.

I presume you'll be making as big a song and dance about the allocation of those countries budgets?

[/B][/QUOTE]

Maybe. I do a mean Polka.

 

[Buzzer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What would you do with $2.9 TRILLION?

Simple tap-in for the Democrats.

Agreed. Fingers crossed that no Teddy Kennedy or Gary Hart-like shenanigans happen to the Democrats between now and the US elections.

 

[Rusco]

I bet we'd still struggle to sign a recognised striker though !