Friday, February 22, 2008

Simple math

B-2 stealth bomber crashes on Guam
Associated Press
22 Feb 2008
HAGATNA, Guam - A B-2 stealth bomber crashed Saturday at an air base on Guam, but both pilots ejected safely and were in good condition, the Air Force said.
...
Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build.


Wikipedia gives the unit cost as "$737 million to $2.2 billion".

Let's be conservative and take a number at the lower end of the range cited by Wikipedia (and considerably less than the number cited in the AP article!): $750,000,000/plane.

Recall, we are short about 1000 meat inspectors. Supposing these guys make $100,000/yr (a decent wage!), the single B-2 Stealth Bomber we lost in Guam today would pay for all of these 1000 extra meat inspectors for seven-and-a-half (7.5) years!

If the unit cost of a B-2 is really $1.2Bn, that one B-2 would pay for 1000 extra meat inspectors for 12 years!

What do you think "national security" means? I'd vote for a safe food supply!

Stop the madness!

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