cost of war Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The total cost of the war in Iraq is now above 161 billion dollars and is still rising. That is an incredible amount of money that is being put forth to fight an ongoing war against insurgents in Iraq. This money could potentially be put toward finding a solution to some of America’s more personal issues, such as the declining amount of government money in schools, the increasing number of people being diagnosed with AIDS, and the increasing poverty level. Putting money towards finding solutions to these issues would make America a better place to live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many schools are being closed down every year due to the lack of money being put into those schools. Some of the money spent on the war could be allocated for these schools in order to keep them open. For example, after the Board of Education announced that thirty-four public schools would close by next fall the executive vice-president, Virginia Cantrell, of the Detroit Federation of Teachers said, â€Å"We are in a crisis† (Rummel par 2). Cantrell said the loss of more than half of the city’s population in the past thirty years and the growth of charter schools leaves fewer students in the public school system (Rummel par 2). In addition to keeping the schools open, the money would also help stop other problems such as the lack of teachers and poor teacher-student ratios. In November of 2000, students at Guy Benjamin Elementary School were sent home after the teachers who showed up left(McCracken par 1). The school closed at 11:30 when the principa l had only three staff members remaining to supervise more than 100 students (McCracken par 2). The teachers were striking because of inadequate pay. The Territorial Court Judge ended the three week strike by ordering the teachers to come back to work (McCracken par 3). The money used for the war could be allotted to pay teachers more money to keep the people who currently are teachers and as an incentive to get more people to become teachers. This would eliminate the problem of people not wanting to become teachers solely because teachers do not make enough money. Furthermore, the money could be used to buy needed supplies. Many schools do not have sufficient amounts of books or computers, if any, that are in good condition. The money could also be used to renovate old schools that are in bad condition. Stu... ... such as the budget and social security could benefit from money used for the war in Iraq. Devoting money to solving these problems would not only help solve these problems but would have an effect on America’s overall well being. The bottom line is that there is an enormous amount of money being used to fight this war and if the money was used more efficiently, it could not only be used for the war but also be used for the wars that Americans currently battle everyday at home. Works Cited Jeanie Lerche Davis. â€Å"CDC: HIV/AIDS Statistics Up in America†. WebMDHealth. 28 July, 2003. WebMD. 14 April 2005. McCracken, David. â€Å"Benjamin School closes for lack of teachers†. World History Archives. 8 November 2000. Hartford Web Publishing. 14 April 2005. . Rummel John. â€Å"‘Devastating’ school closings hit Detroit†. People’s Weekly World. 14 April 2005. People’s Weekly World Newspaper. 14 April 2005. . Siddiqi, Samana. â€Å"Statistics on poverty & food wastage in America†. SoundVision.com. 26 April 2004. Islamic Information & Products. 14 April 2005. . â€Å"The War in Iraq Costs†. Cost of War. April, 2003. National Priorities Project. 14 April 2005. .