by Ryan Foley

Created on: November 28, 2008

When debating about two social issues such as war and economy, one must take into fact all of the tangible and intangible figures which come with this great conflict. Because no one is certain how long the war in Iraq will endure, the entire cost for the war is currently unmeasurable, despite current economists attempting to quantify the entire costs for the war which constantly are reworked on an annual basis.

Stephen J. Davis, Kevin M. Murphy, and Robert H. Topel of the University of Chicago did a comprehensive study on cost-benefit comparisons for the War of Iraq the day before scheduled invasion. Their studies took into account a 3% chance that Iraq would convert into a benign government and at a 2% interest rate. Their initial price tag of the war, was $125 billion dollars. This study has since been re-worked to a range of $410 billion to $630 billion by the trio. However, this figure is largely inflated because it attributes to all factors of military actions across the seas which include Rescue Operations throughout other nations in the Middle East, in addition to humanitarianism in Northern Africa.

How can America afford this war when we are already trillions in debt? Logically the standpoint of this issue rests with foreign creditors. America is indebted for over a very hefty 10.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Despite that skewed amount seeming like an insurmountable abundance of grief over hope, the United States is still the strongest economy in the world at a Gross Output of 40%. With corporations taking their businesses elsewhere because the cost of funding (mainly the American employee) is becoming too unbearable in the United States, to whom are we outsourcing and for what? It can be logically assumed that much of the funding even during this time of world economic turmoil, is to attempt to keep peace in the Middle East.

I am actually not for this war nor do I believe in Bush's Administration however, I believe he has received more negative criticism then deserved. One cannot truly know the outcome of any man's presidency until after he has served his term. This is not my opinion but rather historically accurate. Previous president Bill Clinton, proposed and put into place many social programs to give the economy a slight economic boom during the time. However, the stint of creating this programs is merely that, a short-term stint. He claimed credit for "the general health of the economy", sponsored and implemented a welfare reform bill, and fought to increase minimum wage. These three programs along with others would account for America's future economic turmoil more than Iraq.

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