…yes, that’s with a “T”

I don’t normally get into anything even quasi-political in this space, but I can’t let this one pass by.

There were news reports on Tuesday about new Congressional Budget Office estimates that the US will have spent $2.4 trillion within ten years for the combined wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later that day, I heard a TV news commentator say something to put that number in perspective: You know the Social Security shortfall that no one in Washington dares to offer a realistic solution for because of how expensive it will be? Well, according to this commentator, $2.4 trillion would completely fund the anticipated Social Security liability shortfall for the next 75 years. Even if he overstated things and the shortfall coverage was only for 30 or 40 years, it still takes your breath away to think about what we’re giving up for what we’re getting.