Broome County Cost of War Project Goes Viral

April 14, 2010 by imc-editor

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/90723319.html?cmpid=15585797
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/counting-the-cost/
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/12
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/tax-day-and-americas-wars

Binghamton Bridge is proud to co-sponsor the nationally-recognized Broome County Cost of War Project in an effort to promote local dialogue around the costs of war and U.S. militarism.

As an independent, all-volunteer, community-based media group, Binghamton Bridge welcomes the chance to fill in where local and national corporate media fail to inform, educate, and activate citizens around critical issues that matter in our daily lives. And the eerie silence over the costs of nine years of war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is ticking close to $1 trillion and projected to reach a total of $3 trillion, is something we are happy to help break.

As part of this campaign, Binghamton Bridge worked with Broome County Cost of War Project to develop a 12-question Cost of War Contest. The questions are challenging, and the answers shocking. The deadline is May 15, and one winner will be selected randomly from all correct entries and receive $100.00. Give it a shot.

Click READ MORE to find the link to the online contest form, and to learn more about the Broome County Cost of War Campaign, which includes an art exhibit and a "Cost of War Counter."

Cost of War contest enter here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GVHCGKG

(A copy of the survey is pasted below, but entry forms should be completed using the link above)

SUMMARY
At a news conference with Mayor Matt Ryan on Wednesday, April 14, members of Broome County Cost of War Project shared some of the following facts to highlight the cost of war:

(a) Binghamton taxpayers have contributed $138.6 million to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars since 2001, which is more than enough to cover ALL local property tax bills for the next FOUR years (revenue generated by local property taxes in 2010 City budget is $32.1 million)

(b) Broome County taxpayers contributed $543.9 million to total defense spending in the 2010 Budget, which is enough to provide renewable electricity to 50,000 Broome County homes for the next 20 years

(c) New York taxpayers have already contributed $67 billion to the 7 years of war in Iraq. Compare that to New York State?s 2009 High Speed Rail Plan, announced in March of 2009, which aims to spend $10.7 billion to “transform” and upgrade our transportation systems…..over the next 20 years.

"Some families are facing the worst financial hardship we've seen in decades, and we're here to ask the question, 'Can we afford the cost of war?'", said Sue McAnanama, Outreach Coordinator for Broome County Cost of War Project.

For more analysis on local, County and State tax dollars diverted to war and defense spending (and a list of what we could have funded with these amounts) visit National Priorities Project, another sponsor of this campaign, at www.nationalpriorities.org.

At the conference, the organizers also announced two other aspect of the awareness campaign:

(1.) Cost of War Exhibit – Local artists are hosting a “Cost of War” exhibit in the City Hall Gallery as part of June's First Friday Art Walk. The exhibit will more broadly interpret the theme “cost of war,” including the social, moral, physical, and financial costs of war. (The winner of the Cost of War Contest will be announced and awarded the prize at the exhibit opening.) Interested artists are encouraged to contact Exhibit Coordinator, Barabra Kane Lewis, at bkanelewis@gmail.com

(2.) Legislative Advocacy – Members of the BC Cost of War Project will soon submit a request for legislation to Binghamton City Council to “Bring Our War Dollars Home.” The legislation, modeled after other communities, will encourage our federal elected officials to: (i) vote against any war spending bill that continues the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and (ii) propose major shifts in future annual spending bills from the military budget to investments in job creation, education, transportation, energy, health care and housing.

For the city's official press release and to see the remarks made by Mayor Matt Ryan and Sue McAnanama, visit http://www.cityofbinghamton.com/viewarticle.asp?a=3322

DONATIONS
According to organizers, donations to the Broome County Cost of War Project are welcome, and will help continue the awareness campaign. All contributions will be dedicated exclusively to this effort, and can be mailed to "Broome County Peace Action / PO Box 1611 / Binghamton NY 13902." Checks should be made payable to "BCNWRC" (which stands for Broome County Nuclear Weapons Reduction Campaign), and should include "Cost of War" in the memo line.

SAMPLE SURVEY
1. How many military facilities does the U.S. maintain throughout the world and what is the cost each year?
(According to a military financial analyst at Foreign Policy in Focus - http://www.fpif.org/)

(a) 125 sites / $8 billion
(b) 250 sites / $31 billion
(c) 450 sites / $112 billion
(d) 865 sites / $250 billion
__________________________

2. Binghamton taxpayers contributed $93.3 million to the 2010 military budget.
(According to the National Priorities Project - http://www.nationalpriorities.org/)

For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

(a) Approximately 90 More Binghamton Police Officers for 20 Years
(b) Health Care for Approximately 8,000 Binghamton Children for Four Years
(c) Approximately 100 More Binghamton Elementary School Teachers for Ten Years
(d) Renewable Electricity for 8,000 Binghamton Homes for Approximately 20 Years
(e) Any one of the above
_____________________________

3. The City of Binghamton receives an annual grant from the Federal government called the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
CDBG grants are used to repair roads, demolish blight, rehab homes, support small
businesses, improve parks, and help serve low-income populations.

Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, community development grants have:

(a) Increased by 3% annually
(b) Remained at the same level
(c) Decreased by 2% annually
(d) Decreased by a combined 24%
_________________________________

4. What was the increase in military budget from 2001 to 2009?

(a) $350 billion
(b) $164 billion
(c) $119 billion
(d) $62 billion
________________________

5. President Obama recently released his 2011 budget.
How much money will it cost to continue the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan?

(a) $19 billion (proposed budget for NASA)
(b) $50 billion (proposed budget for the Department of Education)
(c) $78 billion (proposed budget for the Department of Transportation
(d) $159 billion (almost $15 billion more than the COMBINED proposed budgets for Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Justice, Labor, Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, Corps of Engineers)
_______________________

6. As of 2008, the projected total cost of medical care for U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars:
(a) $500 million
(b) $5 billion
(c) $50 billion
(d) $500 billion
_______________________

7. How much did the U.S. spend in 2008 alone on nuclear weapons?
(a) $2 billion
(b) $12 billion
(c) $30 billion
(d) $52 billion
_______________________

8. In 2004 the annual funding for military recruiting and retention programs was $3.4 billion.
In 2008, it was:
(a) Nearly cut in half, to $1.8 billion
(b) About the same, at $3.6 billion
(c) More than doubled, to $7.7 billion
_______________________

9. According to a 2007 economic report, investing $1 billion in any of the following—weatherizing homes,
health care, education, mass transit, and infrastructure repair—would create significantly more jobs
than would $1 billion spent on the military.
(a) True
(b) False
_______________________

10. Measured in 2010 dollars, the Korean War cost $393,000 per year for every person deployed. The
Vietnam conflict cost $256,000 per year for every person deployed. By contrast, the Iraq and
Afghanistan commitments have cost how much per year for every person deployed?
(a) $191,000
(b) $368,000
(c) $529,000
(d) $792,000
_______________________

11. Who said the following: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense a theft from those who hunger, and are not fed, those who are cold and
not clothed.”
(a) Socialist Presidential Candidate Eugene Debs
(b) Republican President Dwight Eisenhower
(c) Dr. Martin Luther King
(d) Democratic President Jimmy Carter
_______________________

12. At least ________ of all discretionary spending is committed to the military.
(a) 15%
(b) 25%
(c) 38%
(d) 50%

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