WAR COSTS PER CAPITA
The consumer group Public Citizen projected Wednesday that the per-capita cost of the Gulf War could run more than $1,000 over four years and urged Congress to adopt a tax package to pay the bill. The per-capita calculations, which were done by Princeton economist James P. Love, are for two war scenarios: a low-cost war with a short postwar occupation, and a longer war with a difficult occupation. Further, they factor in such long-term costs as enforcing the embargo against Iraq, replacing all the munitions expended in the war, the cost of rebuilding Iraq after the war and providing aid to other countries whose economies might be hurt by the conflict. Unlike U.S. government estimates, they also take into account such private costs as war-related fuel price increases.
SHORT WAR LONG WAR Total cost $164 billion $268 billion Cost per family of four $2,624 $4,288 Cost per capita $656 $1,072
OTHER COST ESTIMATES
Enforcing ECONOMIC SANCTIONS without war: $75 billion
An OCCUPATION FORCE of 100,000 in Iraq: $6.4 billion per year
A 60-DAY shooting war: $45 billion
If war lasts LONGER than 60 days: $80 billion or more
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