Aid Needs to Increase

There has been a 10% increase in foreign aid over the last several years. Unfortunately, the amount of aid currently given still represents just 0.3% of national income, the same level as in 1993. According to Oxfam's Head of Development Finance, Max Lawson, "Rich countries can come up with the money when they want to. AIG’s executive bonuses alone could have paid for enough teachers for 7 million children in Africa." With these numbers, achieving the MDGs before 2015 will definitely not be an easy task. Rich countries will need to implement significant increases in aid levels to meet the promises they've made.
Source: Oxfam

Political Priorities by the Numbers

$6,750.2 million: Total program cost for the Presidential Helicopter (VH-71).
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

Rethinking our Resources

Some interesting research from Oxfam draws the conclusion that "the resources devoted to the global financial bailout are sufficient to end world poverty for half a century." As of January 2009, $8.424 trillion has been promised to banks and other financial service firms. In comparison, the cost to lift the 1.4 billion people living in poverty above the $1.25/day threshold is $173 billion. Of course, the complexity of the problem cannot be summed up by two numbers, but the comparison is still important. It shows us just how much resources we have, and making poverty history is mainly a matter of how we use those resources.
Source: AlertNet

Government Spending Through the Years

Jim Bianco of Bianco Research calculated the costs of several major government expenditures from the past into today's numbers. Here's what he found:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

The $375 billion accumulated debt of the 49 poorest countries in the world, in comparison, seems like pocket change.
Source: AlertNet

Political Priorities by the Numbers

$533.7 billion: Department of Defense Budget, as outlined in President Obama's 2010 plan.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

Political Priorities by the Numbers

$787 billion: Economic stimulus bill signed into law today.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.