Barrel Strength

Jim Bianco of Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
• World War II: Cost: $288 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $3.6 trillion

Total cost: $7.53 trillion

Bloomberg places the total cost for the bailout so far at $7.7 trillion.  All this before the bailout for the Big Three automakers and before Obama-Pelosi-Ried team has started playing.

h/t The Big Picture

Dec 4, 2008

Update: A reader forwarded the following note regarding the above.

Another way to examine the expenditure is as a percentage of GDP.  One of the difficulties with this option is that some of the expenditure were over several years.  In those cases, the chronological midpoint is chosen.  The key point to note is that expenditures related to the Credit Crisis are just getting started.

Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, 3.13% of GDP in 1803
The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), 43.66% of GDP in 1935
World War II: Cost: $288 billion, 177.89% of GDP in 1942
Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, 4.75% of GDP in 1949
Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, 15.07% of GDP in 1952
Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, 4.62% of GDP in 1966
Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, 11.27% of GDP in 1969
S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, 3.00% of GDP in 1988
Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551 billion, 4.44% of GDP in 2005

Credit Crisis: $7.8 trillion, 54.55% of GDP in 2008