From SPLC's "Hopewatch" page: 5 things $45 million could pay for instead of a massive military parade
Following this line of thought, I think we could also count up the total wasted costs of this administration -- not wait three more four years but just start with this year alone. I'd bet we could have fixed many of the problems the Biden/Harris administration had worked on, including driving Russia out of Ukraine.
Speculative, sure, but based on real numbers we only wish we could access. The good of this thinking -- call it good speculation -- is that it promotes the imagining of a better future, which helps keep minds open and hope alive for our younger generations. Human imagination beats AI forever.
https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hopewatch/5-things-washington-military-parade/
The potential $45 million price tag, which includes $16 million to fix streets that the parade would damage, could balloon even further following the parade. Costs for cleanup and increased police presence are reportedly not part of the current estimate....
1
Buying more than 14 million lunches for high school students. (The School Nutrition Association’s national average for the price of high school lunches is $3.20.)
2
Funding Medicaid coverage for almost 6,000 eligible people for a year. For children alone, close to 14,900 could be covered. In Alabama, where children are more than half of all Medicaid recipients, more than 21,700 children could be covered for a year. (These figures are based on KFF data that shows Medicaid spending per enrollee in 2021 was $7,593 for all eligibility groups, $3,023 for children, and $2,069 for children in Alabama.)
3
Providing more than 4,500 Georgia households with subsidized housing assistance for a year. (In 2023, the Department of Housing and Urban Development contributed an average of $830 per month per household, or $9,960 per year, to supplement the rent people living in subsidized housing paid, according to USAFacts.)
4
Covering a year of disability compensation for more than 7,200 military veterans with a combined disability rating of up to 50%. (The average annual veteran disability compensation payment ranges from $1,425 to $48,227 per person, according to a 2024 USAFacts analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This figure is based on the average compensation per person for veterans with a combined disability rating of up to 50%.)