What's at Stake?

Notes and Sources

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Reference Data

 

Overview

The following datasets are available in NPP's online database:

 

The following data is available from outside sources:

 

Introduction

 

Cost of War

This sheet computes the Cost of War (COW) for each state and provides breakouts for each individual war, for FY2011 only and cumulative numbers. See our Cost of War website for an up-to-the minute counter. These numbers are based on an analysis of legislation enacted Congress to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and research by the Congressional Research Service which draws in part on Department of Defense financial reports.The fiscal year 2011 numbers are from P.L. 112-10, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2011.

We calculated each state's share of taxes paid into federal funds revenues (based on IRS data). This includes individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, excise, gift and estate taxes.Each state's share of taxes was then multiplied by the total amount of the war.

 

Head Start

Head Start is a federally funded educational program which provides low-income toddlers and children with the scholastic skills they need to succeed once they reach primary school. Studies have found some gains in vocabulary and math abilities in addition to better health and welfare outcomes for participating children. Federal guidelines require that 90 percent of Head Start seats be filled by children living at or below 100 percentof the poverty rate ($22,113 for a family of 4.) However, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services finds that children living between 100 percent and 150 percent of the poverty rate have the greatest need ofHead Start services.

 

Head Start Data

 

Note here that since the cost of one year of war is greater that any Head Start Enrollment Gap, we compute how many YEARS of Head Start gap enrollment could be funded.

 

Insurance

Rising costs of health care affect the country as a whole, but those with no insurance to protection them from those costs fare the worst. A study conducted at the Harvard Medical School finds that 45,000 people die each year from lack of health insurance. The health, financial, and social costs for people lacking insurance make providing access to basic Medicaid coverage an imperative.

 

Insurance Data

  • The number of people not covered by health insurance in 2009 was taken from health table HI06 in the Current Population Survey.

  • Projected cost of low-income healthcare is based on forecasts of Medicaid cost per person using the last five years of data (2006-2010) taken from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Data Compendium.

 

 

Energy

The cost of securing and transporting the fossil fuels used to drive the U.S. economy is enormous and rising. Fossil fuels are frequently extracted in politically unstable, hostile countries or regions. In addition, they are ultimately finite. Both factors contribute to a growing U.S. need to increase our use of clean, renewable energy we can produce at home.

 

Energy Data

  • Sources for Total Renewable Energy (BBtu) and Total Energy Consumption (BBtu) cover 2009 and are taken from the Energy Information Administration.

  • Total 2009 energy expenditures by state taken from the Energy Information Administration.

  • The cost of wind energy, estimated at 10 cents per kWh, is based on data found in an EIA report called the “2016 Levelized Cost of New Generation Resources” from the Annual Energy Outlook 2010.

  • The cost of solar photovoltaic energy, estimated at 21 cents per kWh, is based on data found in an EIA report called the “2016 Levelized Cost of New Generation Resources” from the Annual Energy Outlook 2010.

 

 

Higher Education

Studies have shown that the benefits of higher education are enormous. An individual with a college degree can expect to earn 75 percent more than peers without a degree over the course of a lifetime. Additionally, society benefits from increased college graduation through lower crime rates and higher productivity in the workforce. Costs associated with attending college to achieve these benefits have skyrocketed; published tuition and fees rose 439 percent between 1982 and 2007. Unlocking higher education for those who cannot afford it is both critical and increasingly difficult.

 

Higher Education Data

  • The information for each state university was obtained through each university's individual website.

 

 

City-level Impact

Recovery from the recent recession, when it comes, will be at the end of a long and painful struggle for most cities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that, on average, the metropolitan areas of the country will not return to peak employment until the first half of 2014, with many more taking longer to recoup their job losses.

 

Note: The Quarter System

The federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 of one year to Sept. 30 of the next. This year is separated into four quarters, which are the windows used by the U.S. Conference of Mayors report to illustrate when cities will return to peak employment levels.

 

Quarter 1: Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 (Fall)

Quarter 2: Jan. 1 to March 31 (Winter)

Quarter 3: April 1 to June 30 (Spring)

Quarter 4: July 1 to Sept. 30 (Summer)

 

City-level Impact Data

 

 

Job Creation

Some suggest that increased and consistently high military spending leads to job creation, both direct and indirect. The Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst finds that investing $1 billion in education, healthcare, clean energy, or tax cuts would generate more jobs than investing the same $1 billion in military-related industries.

 

Job Creation Data

 

 

Military Spending

The scope of U.S. military spending is enormous compared to the rest of the federal budget, accounting for roughly 58 percent of discretionary spending and 20 percent of the total federal budget. It is important to remember that U.S. expenditures dwarf not only our domestic budget but every other country's defense budget.

 

Military Spending Data



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