“According to CRS, the Congressional Research Service, all major US wars (including such events as the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, the invasion of Panama, the Kosovo War and numerous other small conflicts), cost a total of $7.5 trillion in inflation-adjusted 2008 dollars.
Casey Research, of Vermont, (no relation) has analyzed the costs of the government bailouts of the housing crisis, the credit crisis and others and has concluded that the total is $8.5 trillion, which is more than the cost of all US wars, the Louisiana Purchase, the New Deal, the Marshall Plan and the NASA Space Program combined.” (Read more from sheilacasey.com)
Obviously, the figures from the U.S. wars waged have not been adjusted to inflation. World War II alone would have run us a much more massive bill than the stated if this were so.
Thanks for the comment. I’m always curious how readers stumble across old blog posts. This one was long-disappeared from the front page when you posted your comment.
Your comment made me curious.
WWII cost America 2.88 billion or 3.06 billion depending who you ask. (source here)
I used this inflation calculator, and adjusted from 1943. (I choose the middle year, even though America’s war production was greater toward the end of the war. Adjusting from 1944 or 1945 would yield a smaller result.)
The result? 3.5 – 3.8 trillion. The chart seems more or less accurate. If there’s a better way for me to crunch numbers, let me know.