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TOTAL U.S. SPENDING ON NUCLEAR ARMS REACHES $5.48 TRILLIONJuly 1, 1998ÿThe Washington Based Brookings Institute has released a 4-year study called "Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940" saying that for most of the time since 1940 neither Congress, the military, nor the president has had a clear idea of the cost of the U.S. nuclear weapons program. The report said that the government has spent $5.48 trillion on nuclear weapons. The editor of the study, Stephen I. Schwartz, said, "Nuclear weapons were considered to give more 'bang for the buck'" and said for that reason the powers that controlled the development of our nuclear arsenals paid little attention to the costs. He went on to say, "Waste is in the eye of the beholder. Clearly, nuclear deterrence as a concept and a reality exists. But there's a big difference between having 5 weapons or 10 weapons or 20 weapons or 20,000 weapons. Somewhere in there, you stop getting more bang for the buck." He added, "The tie between regional economic benefits and nuclear weapons created an inertia which made it extremely difficult to curtail nuclear weapons programs after their useful life had expired." |
