Every DAY the US spends $100 million on keeping its weapons poised and ready for use in preemptive strike. (1)
A mosquito net in Africa costs about $3.
The $100 million spent daily on US weapons readiness, then, could buy well over 33 million mosquito nets.
That would be enough to buy one for every single person living below the poverty line in the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin combined. (Three West African countries with high malaria risk and prevalence.)
THAT'S IN ONE DAY.
Why don't we make this a little more personal while we're at it. It costs me about $125 to fill my fat truck up with gas, which I do about every 2 weeks. That's 82 mosquito nets worth of gas each month.
I buy myself a specialty coffee about once a week. That's about $5 for each double shot soy latte, so $20 a month. 7 mosquito nets worth of specialty coffee consumed each month (not to mention the $1.50 drip coffees I buy almost daily).
Hmmmm.
P.S. The overall US military budget is $2 billion per day (1). TWO BILLION DOLLARS PER DAY!
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(1)Source: Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren
1 comment:
This made me feel guilty, in a good way. I bought a tall instead of a grande at Starbucks tonight as a start.
For midnight snacks, I just ate tzaziki and pita. I recommend it - it also sounds like we have the same sleeping patterns.
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