Cost of war comes home to Chicago gapper's delay

Social justice news
October 1, 2007

Cost of war comes home to Chicago gapper's delay
A demonstration in front of the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago's East Loop drew a small "gapper's delay," but little more attention as the American Friends Service Committee tried to bring the staggering cost of the war in Iraq home to Chicago residents. The event was part of a national effort of the AFSC, connecting the expense of the war with actual needs and problems that could otherwise be addressed with federal resources invested at home.

Chicago AFSC regional director Michael McConnell even made a specific local appeal, informing passersby that the cost of "just a few minutes of the war in Iraq" represents enough cash to cover the annual budget shortfall of the local Chicago Transit Authority, currently engaged in what has become its annual round of fiscal brinkmanship with Spingfield state legislators.

"Our government spends $500,000 per minute fighting the war in Iraq instead of funding early childhood education, health care or renewable energy projects," said McConnell, standing before a half-moon array of brightly colored vertical banners depicting the Iraq war's specific domestic trade-offs as small groups of office workers slowed their lunch-bound strides down long enough to try and figure out what the fuss--and flapping banners--was about. "That's $720 million a day invested in the war in Iraq while our communiites at home are suffering."

Based on studies by Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Kennedy School of Government professor Linda Bilmes, the AFSC banners illustrate crucial human services that one day of the Iraq war could pay for. They conclude that--when costs of caring for wounded Iraq vets, rebuilding Iraq and increases in the Department of Defense budget are factored in--the war will ulimately cost more than $1 trillion.

Since the war began, dozens of federal programs have been cut, including Head Start, the Community Food and Nutrition program, youth job training, and maternal and child health programs. Millions lost their health insurance.

According to the AFSC, the $720 million spent on one day of the Iraq war could have provided:

At, $1,700 per child per year, health insurance for 423,529 children

$720 million could put 34,904 students through public universitiecollege

$720 million could put 12,478 new teachers in the classroom or open 95,364 new slots in the nation's underutilized Head Start early childhood education program.

There's nothing rhetorical about AFSC's argument to Gene Horcher, a member of Metro Seniors in Action. To him the tradeoffs in federal dollars have had a specific impact on his ability to get around as an older member of U.S. society.

"The war has been grinding down for four years," he said. "The CTA has been grinding down for four years, para-transit (for the disabled) has been grinding down for four years." The states need more support from the federal government for local mass transit, Horcher argued, but there's no money left to divvy up so service cuts and rising costs for public transit become inevitable.

"The taxpayers say, 'We didn't give at the office; we gave in Iraq.' Granny can't go to the store, can't go out and visit her friends or her family. The [war supporters] say Granny can stay home and watch the war on TV."

The demonstration drew the critical attention of a handful of Air Force reservists in town for "privacy training" and the scattered interest of some pedestrians and tourists. At least one person inspected the banners and cheered on the AFSC speakers before expressing some disappointment in the meager turnout.

"What is it? More than 60 percent say they are against the war?" Where are the angry anti-war demonstrators for the current era, he wondered. "There's so much pressure now. I guess people are all tied up; personal issues take over. We just seem so disconnected from the war."

Except of course for people in military families, he quickly added, unfairly burdened by this war. "I guess there's be more interest [in peace demonstrations] if we had a draft," he said, before wandering back to his day at the office.—Kevin Clarke

Back to page top