What's the Price of Rose-Colored Night Vision Goggles?

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost the Pentagon some of their wish list for new weapons.
The Government Accountability Office has found costs for new weapons spiraling out of control -- and competing for dollars with the wars. From the Washington Post:

The major weapons systems being developed and produced by the Defense Department will require $1.6 trillion to complete and $335 billion over the next five years -- money that may not be available because of the continuing cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO found some weapons were pitched with unrealistic price tags to begin with -- sometimes 30% - 40% below what they would end up costing. (WaPo)

Bush and the Debt Counselor

President Bush visits a debt counseling agency today. Hey, at least someone in government is willing to admit we have a problem.

Unfortunately, the President's trip is just to deliver a speech -- not to get any national debt counseling. His visit is part of the housing crisis photo-op of the day sort of thing. Easy for him to empathize with people losing their homes -- since he lives in public housing.

So.

Mr Bush won't be coming away with any advice on the national debt -- which this morning stood at $9.396 trillion. (Newsday)

The Cost of War

The Iraq War will cost us taxpayers $3 trillion dollars.

That's "trillion" with a "T."

That's $12 billion a month.

That's a lot of debt your grand kids will have to pay off.

Linda Blimes and Joseph Stiglitz did the math for an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post. Their sum comes up a lot higher than the $60 billion the Bush administration promised before Baghdad fell.

The problem is with the hidden costs:

• Money to help future veterans


• Re-equipping a depleted military


• Hidden costs in the Defense budget

Then there's the $500,000 each family receives when a service member is killed in combat. Close to 4,000 so far.

And there are hidden costs hitting our economy, like the massive debt we've run up borrowing money for the war and the family members who've had to leave the workforce to take care of a wounded relative. (WaPo)

Your Share of $59 Trillion

Some of the most creative minds in government are accountants. A USA Today review of federal spending found the books cooked to the tune of more than a trillion dollars.

Officially, the federal government says there was a $248 billion deficit last year. That's using those "creative" accounting ideas your government has cooked up to cook the books.

USA Today applied modern accounting principles -- and found the red ink was a lot deeper -- about $1.3 trillion. USA Today points out:

"Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.

The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition."

Add up all the deficits over all the years and taxpayers owe around $59.1 trillion bucks.

You're share -- $516,348. Compare that to the $112,043 the average household owes for mortgages, car loans, and all other debt combined -- and you'll see you're a more frugal spender than your Uncle Sam. (USA Today)