This is nothing new, but at a time when every state and local government is scrambling for spare change, it's worth thinking about what what we could have done with the Iraq war money. For example:
We could have closed every single state’s FY2012 budget deficit—totaling nearly $112 billion -- nearly seven times over. That means no protests in Wisconsin, no mass teacher firings, and no school closures.
And:
We could have outfitted 31.2 million detached, single-family homes— about 45 percent of the detached, single-family homes in America—with solar paneling.
No more need for nuclear power plants.
Makes you want to cry.