Ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. It’s a cliche, but also a fundamental part of economic theory: There’s always an opportunity cost. And when it comes to federal spending, I like to check in with the National Priorities Project’s trade-off calculator a few times a year just to see what we’re losing.
For example, the White House is pushing to increase the National Nuclear Security Administration’s budget by 13.4 percent (or $11 billion) in 2011, here’s how the 2010 nuke budget could have otherwise been applied locally.
According to NPP, San Diego County taxpapers will pay out $184.3 million for nukes this year. That money could’ve instead:
Provided 75,853 adults or 68,890 children with health care for a year.
Funded 27,697 Scholarships for college students for a year.
Paid the annual salary of 2,647 elementary-school teachers or 3,292 police officers.
Now, if we look at the 2010 budget for ballistic missiles, San Diego County citizens’ share is $107.6 million, which could’ve been spent on:
Provided 44,277 adults or 40,213 children with health care for a year
Funded 16,167 scholarships for college students for a year.
Paid the annual salary of 1,545 elementary-school teachers or 1,922 police officers.
Don’t care about the county? Well, on the city level: taxpayers within the city limits will cover $77.9 million for nukes and $45.4 million for ballistic missiles. Together that could have:
Provided 50,750 adults or 46,091 children with health care for a year.
Funded 18,531 scholarships for college students for a year.
Paid the annual salary of 1,771 elementary-school teachers or 2,203 police officers.
The caveat, of course, is that NPP is basing this off population formulas and not tailoring it to specific regional complexities (such as San Diego’s military industry). Nevertheless, it’s something worth considering.
Completely unrelated, there is such thing as a free breakfast. We just received a press release from the International House of Pancakes that announces free short stacks of buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Feb. 23 to raise awareness (and donations) for Rady Children’s Hospital.
New comment policy
February 9, 2010 - 2:05 pm — Dave MaassHello Readers:
We’ve decided to change the comment policy here at Last Blog on Earth. Now, in order to discuss the stories, you’ll need to register with WordPress and log in. You’ll still be able to create a handle, so don’t worry. This will simply discourage some of the anonymous posts that muddy discussion.
We’ll just try it out and see how it works. Feel free to discuss the policy below. Just register first.
Or email me: davem@sdcitybeat.com