$100 per person per year
I had a problem with my internet this morning (my fault, not theirs) so just a little quick something for thought as we talk about the new defense budget.
The earth has a population of approximately 6.7 billion people. Take away the 300+ million Americans and you get a rough number of 6.4 billion people.
The proposed US Defense Budget (including Iraq and Afghanistan appropriations) is approximately $630 billion.
So, just a little quick, back of the envelope math means the US is spending approximately $100 in defense against every single non-American human on the planet.
Take two more facts on board. 1) 2.1 billion of those people (31%) live on $2 per day or less, and 2) Around 27% of the world's population is below 15 years of age.
I'm always amazed that the debate is always framed as cuts and gains, and not in the absolute.
(PS. If you reverse it, we spend about $2,100 per person in the US.)
The earth has a population of approximately 6.7 billion people. Take away the 300+ million Americans and you get a rough number of 6.4 billion people.
The proposed US Defense Budget (including Iraq and Afghanistan appropriations) is approximately $630 billion.
So, just a little quick, back of the envelope math means the US is spending approximately $100 in defense against every single non-American human on the planet.
Take two more facts on board. 1) 2.1 billion of those people (31%) live on $2 per day or less, and 2) Around 27% of the world's population is below 15 years of age.
I'm always amazed that the debate is always framed as cuts and gains, and not in the absolute.
(PS. If you reverse it, we spend about $2,100 per person in the US.)
posted by mikevotes at
8:10 AM
1 Comments:
Yikes! Good thinking...
By
Marciale, at 11:46 PM
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