Would You Rather Give the Rich $2.5 Trillion or . . .

June 10, 2011 - by Ruth McCambridge

June 8, 2011; Source: hypervocal | We are still commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 2001 Bush tax cuts by passing along a question posed at the Thinkprogress blog.

After reiterating that we have as a nation suffered a net loss of 1.1 million jobs in the decade following the tax cuts, which were, of course, aimed at stimulating the economy, the blog asks us to play the “would you rather” game.

Each of the items below costs the same as the tax cuts to date and we will continue to pick up this tab with the recent extension.

So would you rather provide $2.5 trillion to the rich or . . .

• Give 122.7 Million Children Low-Income Health Care Every Year For Ten Years
• Give 49.2 Million People Access To Low-Income Healthcare Every Year For Ten Years
• Provide 43.1 Million Students With Pell Grants Worth $5,500 Every Year For Ten Years
• Provide 31.5 Million Head Start Slots For Children Every Year For Ten Years
• Provide VA Care For 30.7 Million Military Veterans Every Year For Ten Years
• Provide 30.4 Million Scholarships For University Students Every Year For Ten Years
• Hire 4.19 Million Firefighters Every Year For Ten Years
• Hire 3.67 Million Elementary School Teachers Every Year For Ten Years
• Hire 3.6 Million Police Officers Every Year For Ten Years
• Retrofit 144.6 Million Households For Wind Power Every Year For Ten Years
• Retrofit 54.2 Million Households For Solar Photovoltaic Energy Every Year For Ten Years

Watch this video and feel free to provide your own alternatives in the comments section.

—Ruth McCambridge