The Mind-Numbing Cost

Here's a quick thought for us all:

The most conservative estimate I have seen yet for the cost of the war in Iraq is $750 billion. Keep in mind two things when digesting this number: it is literally the most conservative I have seen (some analysts have suggested it will cost us $2 trillion!) and it does NOT take into account human lives lost - it is simply a monetary measure.

Now think about the rising cost of a college education. I think it's safe to say the more people in our country that attend college the better, and everyone loves a scholarship. If the government paid 100% tuition AND room & board for a TOP TIER college such as, say, HARVARD, it would cost roughly $30,000 per year per student.

That means that we could have spent this money on providing 6,250,000 kids with FULL FOUR YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS TO HARVARD (or any other $30k university). That's six and a quarter MILLION all inclusive scholarships.

Even if you're a strong proponent of this war, you have to admit its outcome is questionable. That's the nicest thing I can say about it, personally. Our government "of the people" could have sent the entire states of Mississippi and Louisiana to Harvard for free. Instead we have Iraq.