DEFENSE WAST

—The 2010 Pentagon budget means “every man, woman and child in the United States will spend more than $2,700 on [defense] programs and agencies next year,” reports the Cato Institute. “By way of comparison, the average Japanese spends less than $330; the average German about $520; China’s per capita spending is less than $100.”

—In 2000, the Pentagon admitted it has lost—yes, lost—$2.3 trillion. In 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a subsequent Department of Defense study said it was only $1 trillion. To put such numbers in perspective, contemplate what those sums could finance. One trillion dollars, for instance, could pay the total cost of universal health care for the long haul; $2.3 trillion would cover universal health care plus the bank bailout plus the stimulus package.