The Hidden Cost of the War in Iraq: $3 Trillion?

Attention: What you are about to watch could quite possibly rock your world.

GOOD’s new video, “The Hidden Cost of War,” is without a doubt the best educational video I have seen since Professor Wesch’s video on Web 2.0, “The Machine Is Us/ing Us“.

Why you should watch “The Hidden Cost of War”:

In just under 3 minutes, it gives a comprehensive overview of how some experts have concluded that U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq will cost 3 trillion dollars, when both current debts and long-term costs are accounted for.

Screenshots of "The Hidden Cost of War" from itsnicethat.com.

Plus, it has cool pictures.

The figures featured in the video are taken from the 2008 book The Three Trillion Dollar War by American economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes.  Stiglitz has won a little-known award called the Nobel Prize, and Bilmes teaches at a small university called Harvard.  So they know a thing or two about economics.  Even if you don’t agree with the political implications of or mathematics behind Stiglitz’s and Bilmes’s estimation, I think everyone can agree that it’s something to think about and discuss.

As you can tell from the capital letters and the middle initials, this is serious business. This ain't no "Goodnight Moon" or "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".

Here’s a YouTube version of the video, but I encourage you to watch it on GOOD’s website for higher quality:

GOOD is a Los Angeles-based magazine focused on social issues, politics, and sustainable living.  They use videos and other visual mediums to create what they call “media that matters” for “people who give a damn”.  100% of their print magazine subscription fees go to a charity of your choosing, from Kiva to Teach for America to Slow Food USA; they’ve raised over $850,000 so far.  Membership to the website alone is free, and the website itself is worth a browse to see GOOD’s other work.