If you are a frequent reader here, thank you. I think it’s important from time to time to just say thanks and appreciate the people who chose to consume your content. While this blog is cathartic for me on many levels, you dear reader continue to be a source of inspiration and motivation for me to continue to create new content. I really, really appreciate you take your time to read my blog, again thank you.
Let’s go out on a limb for a moment and engage in speculation and fantasy. I live in the U.S., I realize many of my readers are not U.S. based. I am flavored by my environment and my past. I am a Gen X’er, a child of the 80’s and for the most part in my life I have not had a major calamity. No near death experiences, no extreme hardships, relatively. I’ve dealt with alcoholism, when I was in high school I had a parent die, I’ve been arrested and spent a weekend (or two) in jail for being disorderly (the boozy days, lol) but the older I get when I reflect back I realize that overall things have been good.
I am afforded the luxury of “what if’s” now, it’s a bi product of age really. It’s not regret based more reflective. So going out on a limb, what if the U.S. government chose to reduce its nuclear weapons? No I am not going down a political rabbit hole here this is more a math question coupled with observation. Now let me say clearly that the U.S. runs a budget deficit, they spend more money than they bring in.
How much do they spend on nukes? Below is a quote and link to ICAN and this blew me away if its correct. “ICAN estimates the US spent $67,352 per minute on nuclear weapons in 2019.” A minute…. Source: “The report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) notes that the $35.4 billion spent by the US in 2019 on its approximate 5,800 nuclear weapons was an increase of $5.8 billion spent in 2018.”
So let’s go out on a limb here… ICAN estimates there are 5800 nukes the U.S. pays for, and it costs 67K (rounded) a minute to maintain them. That means they spend 11 dollars a MINUTE for each nuke. I know its math, hang with me here… So to expand there are 525,600 minutes in one year, that means 1 nuke costs (estimated) 5.7 mil a year to maintain. I do realize some nukes are more expensive than others. I am generalizing but let’s be generous and say 3 mil a year for each nuke.
How many nukes does it take to destroy the world? Is 5800 really necessary? Would 2900 (half) do the trick? I think so, so cutting it in half would be a nearly 3 billion dollar a year pick up? What if that money could be directed to mental health services? Homeless shelters? Veteran services? Domestic Abuse Victim support? Colon Cancer Research? Solar Panels on all Gov buildings?
The possibilities are endless, but it’s a proposed military cut in the U.S. I am out on a limb and I hear the branch creaking a little, I better jump down before it breaks. Still, I wonder, what if?
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