'$600 Billion -- Billion! Billion!' What Brooklyn Could Buy With Its Share

When U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates went to Capital Hill to request another $190 billion in war funds, Sen. Robert Byrd dramatically put his foot down: “If granted, we will have spent more than 600 billion! — billion! billion! — dollars” on the “nefarious and infernal war in Iraq,” he said. (See the video, above.)

What would Brooklyn's share of $600 billion buy?

Brooklyn's share equals $1,875,000,000.* What can you get for $1.9 billion?

- More than six years of funding for all of New York City's Parks, at this year's rate of roughly $300 million a year. New York Times

- New schools for 24,000 students. NYC.gov

- The operation and maintenance of 50 animal shelters for 12 years. NY Daily News

- Defence against bird flu: more than 30 countries in 2006 pledged a total of $1.9 billion to fight a possible pandemic. New York Times

- The 9/11 Heroes Health Improvement Act of 2007, which will provide more than $1.9 billion for those affected by the 9/11 attacks. Courier-Life

- Six years of paratransit services for all disabled New Yorkers. NYC.gov

- Government subsidies for Atlantic Yards -- estimated by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn to be $1.9 billion. The Manhattan Institute


*If every state shared equally, New York would get $12 billion. But to be fair, New York state deserves more than Rhode Island, so let's up it to, say, $15 billion. The population of New York State is roughly 20 million. According to Wikipedia, the population of Brooklyn in 2006 was "nearly" 2.5 million, so we'll make it an even 2.5 in 2007. So Brooklyn's share equals one eighth of New York State's share, or $1,875,000,000 (one billion, eight hundred and seventy-five million).