300 million dollars per day

[Crakhobarbie]

That's what we spent in Afghanistan. 300 million dollars every day for 20 years. ......... When I think of all the good that could of been achieved here, at home, with that money it makes me sick.

Opinion | The Hidden Message In Joe Biden’s Afghanistan Speech

Biden’s caution about the limits of U.S. power could launch a debate that many Americans have wanted for decades.

www.politico.com

 

[jonny5]

That's what we spent in Afghanistan. 300 million dollars every day for 20 years. ......... When I think of all the good that could of been achieved here, at home, with that money it makes me sick.

Opinion | The Hidden Message In Joe Biden’s Afghanistan Speech

Biden’s caution about the limits of U.S. power could launch a debate that many Americans have wanted for decades.

www.politico.com

Not all of it was unneccesary, but Now think about even more money we waste here at home! It doesnt make me sick, but it certainly annoys me.

 

[jonny5]

For example, we spent TWICE that just on interest on the debt. And thats only going up, no pulling out and leaving it stranded at the airport.

 

[Fishking]

That's what we spent in Afghanistan. 300 million dollars every day for 20 years. ......... When I think of all the good that could of been achieved here, at home, with that money it makes me sick.

Opinion | The Hidden Message In Joe Biden’s Afghanistan Speech

Biden’s caution about the limits of U.S. power could launch a debate that many Americans have wanted for decades.

www.politico.com

Second to the thousands of dead Americans to add onto the waste.

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

Every administration, sorry to say, has spent oodles of money on the Military and Military adventurism, but yet, Congress can't pass an Infrastructure Bill??

Alas, everyone put on your partisan hat, and blame THE OTHER SIDE, when the Military Industrial Complex is running both parties.

 

[Loulit01]

Hey! Defense companies and their stockholders made big money! Are you against profits? That unAmerican!
/s

 

[Antiwar]

Even if the Biden administration is being totally honest about their position on US militarism (I highly doubt it), US militarism is still a massive problem with massive momentum, as the article said:

But in making this argument, Biden left a larger question unanswered: what are we to do about the immense global military machine that remains very much in place? As intent as Biden is on bringing the so-called forever wars to an end, the reality is that he and others skeptical of U.S. intervention abroad need to look not at particular conflicts, but at America’s massive military apparatus. Thus far, such criticism has been confined to the periphery of national security debates. But Biden may have laid the foundation for a more fundamental rethinking of the enormous, and largely unquestioned, amount of resources America expends in the name of national security.


The United States has a military budget of some $700 billion a year, supported by a web of multibillion-dollar procurement contracts that turn members of Congress into enthusiastic lobbyists for weapons that do not work and drain the treasury. We have 800 bases in dozens of nations around the world. Our spending, on armed conflicts and more generally on preserving this empire, staggers the imagination.

 

[Crosscheck]

If the population is around 37 million that would mean $8 a day for every Afghanistan citizen, including children and adults.

Their currency is the Afghani which 86 Afghani equals one US dollar.
Thus each citizen would get 688 Afghani a day or 20,640 Afghani a month.
The median Afghanistan monthly salary is 77,900 Afghani per month.

We should of just handed out the money to the population and kept our troops home.

I know that is oversimplistic as undoubtedly corruption would have prevented the distribution but it is food for thought.

 

[mike2810]

Does the 300 million per day include soldiers pay and other routine cost the unit would incur?
Now that the soldiers are out of Afghanistan, they are still employed by the military. They still do training. They still have to be housed,

The most important factor to consider is the 300 million a day was most likely borrowed. So even with the end of the war it is not money we can spend unless we won't to keep adding to the debt.

 

[element94]

I guess there is one more chapter yet to play out in this saga: what the Taliban does going forward.
They claim to be more tolerant and desire to be taken seriously as a government by other countries, which will require them to change some of their past behaviors.
I don't think we'll have to wait long to see how that goes.

 

[HIP56948]

Thats admirable on your part but it is also voluntary. The idea that the state would mandate such a thing and not compensate the landlords for their losses is unacceptable. We have property rights in this country and the government should be there to protect those rights not violate them

Every administration, sorry to say, has spent oodles of money on the Military and Military adventurism, but yet, Congress can't pass an Infrastructure Bill??

Alas, everyone put on your partisan hat, and blame THE OTHER SIDE, when the Military Industrial Complex is running both parties.

You nailed it. Quick story: Had a friend at an Observatory--6 years ago-- that came from a wealthy family. His father knew some of the Fat Cats that really run the "Show"
Anyway, My friend told me one night in a Pub: "You know these teens that buy war games and shoot people and monsters and such for fun?" It's the same for some of these extremely rich pricks that also play these "Games"...except they use real people and war machines to shoot their so-called game scores up and they DO talk to the other "Players"

Let me tell ya...that opened my eyes big time.

 

[calamity]

That's what we spent in Afghanistan. 300 million dollars every day for 20 years. ......... When I think of all the good that could of been achieved here, at home, with that money it makes me sick.

Opinion | The Hidden Message In Joe Biden’s Afghanistan Speech

Biden’s caution about the limits of U.S. power could launch a debate that many Americans have wanted for decades.

www.politico.com

That's why Trump didn't end the war. He saw the opportunities and likely stuffed his off-shore account full with kickbacks.

 

[tres borrachos]

That's what we spent in Afghanistan. 300 million dollars every day for 20 years. ......... When I think of all the good that could of been achieved here, at home, with that money it makes me sick.

Opinion | The Hidden Message In Joe Biden’s Afghanistan Speech

Biden’s caution about the limits of U.S. power could launch a debate that many Americans have wanted for decades.

www.politico.com

My God. That's insane.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

Second to the thousands of dead Americans to add onto the waste.

True. And sadly that's only a small part of it.

American service members killed in Afghanistan through April: 2,448.

U.S. contractors: 3,846.

Afghan national military and police: 66,000.

Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states: 1,144.

Afghan civilians: 47,245.

Taliban and other opposition fighters: 51,191.

Aid workers: 444.

Journalists: 72.

Costs of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars

At just short of 20 years, the now-ending U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan was America's longest war.

apnews.com

 

[Fishking]

True. And sadly that's only a small part of it.

American service members killed in Afghanistan through April: 2,448.

U.S. contractors: 3,846.

Afghan national military and police: 66,000.

Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states: 1,144.

Afghan civilians: 47,245.

Taliban and other opposition fighters: 51,191.

Aid workers: 444.

Journalists: 72.

Costs of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars

At just short of 20 years, the now-ending U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan was America's longest war.

apnews.com

Yes...our allies and Afghan civilians. I don't know how many would've been killed if we had limited our involvement to more specific and limited ways (e.g. Afghanistan was going to get shit on after 9/11 one way or another as you can't allow that kind of attack to happen without dire consequences) but it would've been a lot less.

 

[jonny5]

Does the 300 million per day include soldiers pay and other routine cost the unit would incur?
Now that the soldiers are out of Afghanistan, they are still employed by the military. They still do training. They still have to be housed,

The most important factor to consider is the 300 million a day was most likely borrowed. So even with the end of the war it is not money we can spend unless we won't to keep adding to the debt.

Not necessarily borrowed. The govt collected 25 trillion in income taxes in 20 years. Thats 3.4 billion a day, so 300million on Afghanistan is a drop in the bucket. At the same time, we spent 14 trillion on just federal healthcare. About 2 billion a day.

 

[mike2810]

Not necessarily borrowed. The govt collected 25 trillion in income taxes in 20 years. Thats 3.4 billion a day, so 300million is a drop in the bucket.

Bottom line. The US govt borrows about $0.40 of every dollar it spends.

 

[jonny5]

Bottom line. The US govt borrows about $0.40 of every dollar it spends.

Yep, and it spends almost all of what it borrows on healthcare.

 

[mike2810]

Yep, and it spends almost all of what it borrows on healthcare.

Care to share a source that almost of all the borrowed money goes to healthcare?

 

[Craig234]

Can we take a moment to appreciate that the military industry is very powerful, dictating to many in Congress and having huge influence in the Pentagon to the point of where it seems the generals work for the contractors, who later hire them as a reward, and that we had an election and got a president who did not continue the spending for those contractors?

To coin a phrase, "Thanks, Biden".

 

[Craig234]

Not necessarily borrowed. The govt collected 25 trillion in income taxes in 20 years. Thats 3.4 billion a day, so 300million on Afghanistan is a drop in the bucket. At the same time, we spent 14 trillion on just federal healthcare. About 2 billion a day.

10% is not "a drop in the bucket".

 

[jonny5]

Care to share a source that almost of all the borrowed money goes to healthcare?

Its more a philosophical claim. Average deficit in next 10 years is about 1.5 trillion projected. Average federal health care outlays 2 trillion.

Budget and Economic Data | Congressional Budget Office

CBO regularly publishes data to accompany some of its key reports. These data have been published in the Budget and Economic Outlook and Updates and in their associated supplemental material, except for that from the Long-Term Budget Outlook.

www.cbo.gov