Buy every donkey in the world a BMW Z4

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've bought every donkey in the world a fully loaded 2008 BMW Z4 convertible.  

There are around 44 million donkeys on earth.  The BMW Z4 convertible costs $52,400 fully loaded.   Buying each donkey a BMW Z4 would cost $2.31 trillion, or $690 billion less than than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Image used under a Creative Commons License from sheeshoo.

Buy each of Pelosi's constituents two dozen roses for every hour since Bush announced Social Security Privatization

For the price of the Iraq War, we could buy everyone in Nancy Pelosi's district two dozen roses each hour since George Bush announced that he would try to privatize Social Security in his second term.  

On November 5, 2004, President Bush announced that his re-election had given him "political capital" and named Social Security privatization as the first thing on which he would spend it. He proposed a plan that would invest Social Security funds in the stock market, which has fallen over 10% since then.  Nancy Pelosi, then the new House Minority Leader, pulled her beleaguered party together so that 201 of the 202 Democrats in the House opposed the plan. Without the possibility of bipartisan cover, Republican support for privatization crumbled.  

Pelosi has 639,088 constituents.  Two dozen roses in the "Double Touch of Elegance" bouquet cost $120 at 1-800-FLOWERS.  Buying each of her constituents two dozen roses each hour since November 5 would cost $2.65 trillion, or $350 billion less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Give each US plumber the monthly earnings of Roto-Rooter

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've given Joe the Plumber and each other US plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter the monthly earnings of Roto-Rooter, the largest plumbing and drain cleaning company in America.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 435,010 plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in America.  The plumbers and pipe fitters union was one of the first to endorse Barack Obama.   Roto-Rooter is the largest plumbing and drain cleaning company in America, reporting earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes, and amortization of $15.9 million in the first quarter of 2008, or $5.3 million per month.  Giving the monthly earnings of Roto-Rooter to each US plumber would cost $2.31 trillion, $690 billion less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Give all 9/11 victims a burial on Mars

For the price of the Iraq War, we could give all the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks a burial and funeral on the planet Mars.  

Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the 9/11 attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead, for a total of 2,998. Each Mars Rover has a weight of 175.4 kilograms, which is considerably more than the vast majority of humans. Assembly, test, launch, and a year of operations of each Rover cost about $425 million. So for $850 million, we could send a person's body to Mars, accompanied by their own personal Mars Rover, to dig a grave, bury the body, and broadcast funeral rites. Burying each of the 9/11 victims on Mars would then cost a total of $2.55 trillion, which is $450 billion less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Thanks to reader Andrew Lang for sending in this suggestion with calculations. 

Give every American household a herd of 125 Angora goats

For the price of the Iraq War, we could give every American household a herd of 125 Angora goats.  

The Angora goat is valued for its fur, called mohair, which is heavily subsidized today by the US government.  In 1993, a herd of 125 goats cost $14,600, or $22,136 in today's dollars.  As there are 112 million households in America, giving every American household a herd of 125 goats would cost $2.48 trillion, which is $520 trillion less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Image adapted under a Creative Commons License from ClifB.

Cover the Midwest in muslin

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've covered the Midwest in muslin.

Florida resident Andy Lacasse posted the sign depicted above on his lawn to attack Barack Obama's racial background and putative religious views.  Muslin is a finely woven cotton fabric, not a term for the followers of Islam, the religion that Obama is sometimes falsely accused of following.  Onlinefabricstore.net sells 1 yard by 125 inches of muslin for $4.  

The midwest can be broadly defined to include the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, which have a combined land area of 822,000 square miles.  Covering this entire area with muslin from onlinefabricstore.net would cost $2.92 trillion, which is $80 billion less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Buy every man a Nieman Marcus suit, like the ones Norm Coleman denies receiving

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've bought every man on Earth a Nieman Marcus suit.

Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman is accused of receiving improper free gifts, including a Nieman Marcus suit, from contributor Nasser Kazeminy.  The above video shows Coleman's campaign manager, Cullen Sheehan, repeatedly refusing to answer reporters' questions about whether Coleman received the free suits.  Senators are required to disclose gifts they receive with a value over $250.  

The cheapest of the 24 suits advertised on Nieman Marcus' front suit page costs $830 (considering a suit to include only the jacket and pants).  Buying such a suit for the 3.36 billion men on earth would cost a total of $2.79 trillion, which is $210 billion less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Buy each Somali enough cement to make seven Ryozen Kannon memorials

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've bought every Somali enough cement to make seven Ryozen Kannon memorial statues.  

A ship carrying cement was recently captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia, which has a population of 10 million.  Kyoto's Ryozen Kannon memorial, constructed in honor of the World War II dead from both sides, includes a large Bodhisattva statue made of 500 tons of cement, so it would take 35 billion tons of cement to build seven statues for each Somali.  A metric ton of cement costs $77 when bought in bulk.  So buying enough cement to make seven Ryozen Kannon statues for each Somali would cost $2.70 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Make all Virginians rich enough to be taxed more by Obama

For the price of the Iraq War, we could make everybody in Virginia rich enough to have a portion of their taxes increased by Barack Obama.  

Barack Obama plans to raise taxes on income over $250,000 per year.  Whether people in this bracket experience a net tax increase under his plan will depend on their overall tax situation. The population of Virginia is 7.7 million.  Giving all Virginians $250,000 to raise them to the tax bracket where they'd experience some portion of Obama's tax increases would require $1.93 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Buy out Japan

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've bought every publicly traded company in Japan at yesterday's closing price.

The S&P Global Indices provide the best estimate of the total value of all the publicly traded companies in a nation. The 'Total Market Capitalization' of companies includes not only the value of all the shares of stock, but also any interest in the companies that may be controlled off the stock exchange by the government or other stakeholders. As of yesterday, the total market capitalization of the entire Japanese stock market is $2.95 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Provide forensic exams for every woman in the world

For the price of the Iraq War, we could provide forensic exams for each woman in the world, something that rape victims in Wasilla had to pay for with their own money during Sarah Palin's term as mayor.

In 2000, Alaska Governor Tony Knowles signed a bill making sure that rape victims wouldn't have to pay for their own forensic exams. According to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, this was not common practice at the time in Wasilla:

While the Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies have covered the cost of exams, which cost between $300 to $1,200 apiece, the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests.

Using the figure in the middle of the range gives a cost per forensic exam of $750.  There are 3.33 billion women on earth. At that price, all 3.33 billion women could be provided with forensic exams for $2.50 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.

Build an undersea subway from New York to Rome

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've built a undersea subway beneath the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea from New York to Rome.

The 31.35 mile Channel Tunnel, built from Folkestone in England to Calais in France, cost 4.65 billion pounds in 1985 prices, or $18.8 billion in today's dollars. This comes to $600 million per mile. The distance from New York to Rome is 4280 miles. At the price of the Channel Tunnel, we could've built a railway underneath the Atlantic and the Mediterranean between these two cities for $2.57 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.