The high cost of security

Since 9/11 the U.S. has spent $7.6 trillion

This article was published on 09.15.11

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 still fresh in our memories, and the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan coming up on Oct. 7, it’s worth asking how much Americans have spent on national security—defense baseline, nuclear weapons, Homeland Security and war—during the past decade. The National Priorities Project, a nonpartisan budget-analysis group, has crunched the numbers. Here are some specifics:

Total cost of “security” since 9/11: $7.6 trillion

Percentage U.S. security-related discretionary spending increased from 2000 to 2011: 96 percent

Percentage nonsecurity discretionary spending (education, housing, transportation, environment, etc.) increased: 39 percent

2011 interest on national debt related to security spending: $80 billion

Amount U.S. spends in Iraq and Afghanistan in three minutes: $966,877

California’s share of Afghanistan war funding: $53.6 billion

California’s share of total war funding: $159.7 billion