What Can $1 Trillion Buy?

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In the Washington Post today, Cass Sunstein says that complying with the Kyoto Protocol would have cost the U.S. a mere $300 billion—far less than the price we’re paying to watch an entirely useless bout of mass slaughter and chaos in Iraq. Indeed, there are a lot of things we could’ve done for a fraction of the price of war. We could’ve made sure that some of those 4 million infants dying each year—for want of knit caps and clean scalpels—don’t actually die. Or done more to halt the genocide in Darfur. That’s why the cost of war has to factor in all those useful things we could have done with those hundreds of billions of dollars but didn’t.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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