Does the government think of other uses for money used in war costs in Iraq?
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The total economic impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated at $1.6 trillion by 2009, a congressional committee said in a report released Tuesday. That is nearly double the $804 billion in direct war costs the White House requested so far from Congress, the Democratic-led Joint Economic Committee said. The committee estimated $1.3 trillion in war costs by the end of 2008 for Iraq, and the remainder for Afghanistan. The total war costs could grow to $3.5 trillion by 2017, the committee estimated. The higher total economic impact comes from, among other things, the cost of borrowing money to pay for the war, lost productivity, higher oil prices and the cost of health care for veterans, the committee said. The committee calculated the average cost of both wars for a family of four would be $20,900 from 2002 to 2008. The cost for a family of four would go up to $46,400 from 2002 to 2017, the committee said. The estimate was released as Democrats launch a
