Healthcare or Warfare?

In these days of recession, high unemployment, and cutbacks of every kind, the burden of the Iraq War weighs more heavily than ever. Nowhere is the tradeoff more costly than in the area of health care--a matter of life and death every bit as much as the war itself.

-The Iraq War tax burden for Duluth: $199,500,0001

-The Iraq War tax burden for the 8th Congressional District: $1,500,000,0001

-The Iraq War tax burden for Minnesota: $15,800,000,0001

In the last census approximately 5000 Duluthians were without health care for at least part of the year2. Duluth's Iraq war burden could pay for all of these people's health care costs for more than the next six and a half years!3

The Iraq war burden for every American household is $4,681 as of this writing1. That's enough for nearly 40% of the health care costs for a family of four for a year!4

The US Iraq war burden is $341,400,000 per day1. At that rate, each day's war spending could pay for health care for 56,900 Americans for a year3.

SOURCES:

1. Costs of the Iraq war from: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

2. Rounded up slightly from: http://www.rapsite.org. Based on 2000 census.

3. Assumes an average health care cost of $6000 per person per year. See Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=596&cat=5

4. Assumes a cost of $12,100 for a year in 2007. See National Coalition on Health Care, http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml

**Figures for Iraq war costs are as of 11/16/08 and growing daily. This statement was prepared by Bob Kosuth for the Northland Anti-War Coalition.