Cost of War
 

  • The page discusses quotes and statistics about the high financial and human costs of war
  • Many quotes highlight that money spent on war could be better spent on social programs to help the poor and end hunger and poverty
  • War often benefits war profiteers and the wealthy while the poor suffer the most in lives and taxes
  • Military spending is very high while social programs are underfunded
  • Wars can increase national debt and economic problems in the long run
  • Quotes suggest that if war was not profitable, it would be less common or impossible

This page discusses various money quotes about the cost of war and its impact on society. The quotes are from a range of individuals, including politicians, authors, and historical figures. Some of the quotes highlight the financial costs of war, while others focus on the human toll and the impact on the poor.

The article also includes some statistics on military spending and the cost of specific wars. Overall, the quotes and statistics suggest that war has significant negative consequences, both in terms of money and human lives.

 
food instead of silly rockets and machines and explosives using everybody's food money to blow their heads off anyway Quote
 

“I wish the whole world was dead serious about food instead of silly rockets and machines and explosives using everybody’s food money to blow their heads off anyway” — Jack Kerouac

 

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We have to solve the issue of poverty, the issue of hunger, the issue of war - spending billions of dollars to kill rather than to build Quote
 

“We have to solve the issue of poverty, the issue of hunger, the issue of war – spending billions of dollars to kill rather than to build” — John Lewis

 

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Inflation of the currency; war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin and economic opportunists Quote
 

“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists” — Ernest Hemingway

 
 

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We should only sell arms to those we absolutely trust. At this point in time, we can’t trust Saudi Arabia. It’s now time to suspend arms sales Quote
 

“We should only sell arms to those we absolutely trust. At this point in time, we can’t trust Saudi Arabia. It’s now time to suspend arms sales.” — Rand Paul

 

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spend more on military defense than social uplift approaching spiritual death Quote
 

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death” — Martin Luther King Jr.

 

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This kind of gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed. History shows it usually ends in one of three ways — either higher taxes, revolution, or war. None of those are on my bucket list Quote
 

“This kind of gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed. History shows it usually ends in one of three ways — either higher taxes, revolution, or war. None of those are on my bucket list” — Paul Tudor Jones

 

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War begun without good provision of money beforehand for going through with it is but as a breathing of strength and blast that will quickly pass away. Coin is the sinews of war Quote
 

“War begun without good provision of money beforehand for going through with it is but as a breathing of strength and blast that will quickly pass away. Coin is the sinews of war” — Francois Rabelais

 

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War is a barbaric tool of the war profiteers and Empires who employ them. War pits young people from the working class against other similarly poor, or disadvantaged humans, for nothing but the greed of the few Quote
 

“War is a barbaric tool of the war profiteers and Empires who employ them. War pits young people from the working class against other similarly poor, or disadvantaged humans, for nothing but the greed of the few. Only we the people can make war obsolete by not participating in the profound crimes of the profiteers and other war mongers” — Cindy Sheehan

 

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It has been estimated by statisticians and economists that the war (WWI) yielded $16 Trillion in Profits. That is how the 21,000 Billionaires and millionaires got that way. This $16 Trillion in Profits is not to be sneezed at. It is quite a tidy sum Quote
 

“It has been estimated by statisticians and economists that the war (WWI) yielded $16 Trillion in Profits. That is how the 21,000 Billionaires and millionaires got that way. This $16 Trillion in Profits is not to be sneezed at. It is quite a tidy sum” — Smedley D Butler

 

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War is a Racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives Quote
 

“War is a Racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives” — Smedley D. Butler

 
 

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war cost chart from national prioritiesCreative commons CC – NC by National Priorities Project

 
William Shakespeare For I can raise no money by vile means. By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, And drop my blood for drachmas quote
 

“For I can raise no money by vile means. By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, And drop my blood for drachmas” — William Shakespeare

 

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Weapons are like money; no one knows the meaning of enough Quote
 

“Weapons are like money; no one knows the meaning of enough” — Martin Amis

 

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Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children Quote
 

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

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The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this; a modern brick school in more than 30 cities; it is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population; it is two fine, fully equipped hospitals; it is some 50 miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a a half million bushels of wheat Quote
 

“The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this; a modern brick school in more than 30 cities; it is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population; it is two fine, fully equipped hospitals; it is some 50 miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. This is, I repeat the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron” — Dwight D. Eisenhower, From a speech before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16, 1953

 

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Assist people who are suffering, then suddenly we come very, you know, cost-conscious Quote
 

“You know, we live in a country where if you want to go bomb somebody, there’s remarkably little discussion about how much it might cost, even though the costs almost inevitably end up being orders of magnitude larger than anybody projected at the outcome. But when you have a discussion about whether or not we can assist people who are suffering, then suddenly we come very, you know, cost-conscious.” — Andrew Bacevich

 

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We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security Quote
 

“We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

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Just as war is freedom’s cost, disagreement is freedom’s privilege Quote
 

“Just as war is freedom’s cost, disagreement is freedom’s privilege” — Bill Clinton

 

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A cure for War? Furiously spending the same daily amount of money toward making friends. Being an indispensable source of food, shelter, peace, and cultural support dedicatedly spending 9 billion dollars a month on helping people would be a formidable enemy of evil Quote
 

“A cure for War? Furiously spending the same daily amount of money toward making friends. Being an indispensable source of food, shelter, peace, and cultural support dedicatedly spending 9 billion dollars a month on helping people would be a formidable enemy of evil” — Vanna Bonta

 

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The attainment of the economic aims of man presupposes peace Quote
 

“The attainment of the economic aims of man presupposes peace” — Ludwig von Mises

 

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They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor Quote
 

“They got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor” — Tupac Shakur

 

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To wage war, you need first of all money; second, you need money, and third, you also need money Quote
 

“To wage war, you need first of all money; second, you need money, and third, you also need money” — Raimondo Montecuccoli

 

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On September 14, 2001, I placed the lone vote against the 'Authorization for Use of Military Force' - an authorization that I knew would provide a blank check to wage war anywhere, at any time, and for any length Quote
 

“On September 14, 2001, I placed the lone vote against the ‘Authorization for Use of Military Force’ – an authorization that I knew would provide a blank check to wage war anywhere, at any time, and for any length” — Barbara Lee

 

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can make more generals, but horses cost money Quote
 

“I can make more generals, but horses cost money” — Abraham Lincoln

 

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War prosperity is like the prosperity that an earthquake or a plague brings Quote
 

“War prosperity is like the prosperity that an earthquake or a plague brings” — Ludwig von Mises

 

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The essence of so-called war prosperity; it enriches some by what it takes from others. It is not rising wealth but a shifting of wealth and income Quote
 

“The essence of so-called war prosperity; it enriches some by what it takes from others. It is not rising wealth but a shifting of wealth and income” — Ludwig von Mises

 

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War can really cause no economic boom, at least not directly, since an increase in wealth never does result from destruction of goods Quote
 

“War can really cause no economic boom, at least not directly, since an increase in wealth never does result from destruction of goods” — Ludwig von Mises

 

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Economically considered, war and revolution are always bad business Quote
 

“Economically considered, war and revolution are always bad business” — Ludwig von Mises

 

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The de facto role of the US armed forces will be to keep the world safe for our economy and open to our cultural assault Quote
 

“The de facto role of the US armed forces will be to keep the world safe for our economy and open to our cultural assault” — Major Ralph Peters

 

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The sinews of war are infinite money Quote
 

“The sinews of war are infinite money” — Marcus Tullius Cicero

 

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I guess if people couldn't profit from war I don't think there would be war. But there are too many people that make so much money at the cost of lives of other humans and for no reason but to make the money Quote
 

“I guess if people couldn’t profit from war I don’t think there would be war. But there are too many people that make so much money at the cost of lives of other humans and for no reason but to make the money” — Lily Tomlin

 

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Craig Kilborn The money will cover 30 days of fighting, then we'll be sent one war every other month until we cancel our subscription quote
 

“The money will cover 30 days of fighting, then we’ll be sent one war every other month until we cancel our subscription” — Craig Kilborn

 

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That there are men in all countries who get their living by war, and by keeping up the quarrels of Nations is as shocking as it is true Quote
 

“That there are men in all countries who get their living by war, and by keeping up the quarrels of Nations is as shocking as it is true” — Thomas Paine

 

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When the rich make war, it's the poor that die Quote
 

“When the rich make war, it’s the poor that die” — Jean-Paul Sartre

 

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George Orwell War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it quote
 

“War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it” — George Orwell

 

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Any city however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich. These are at war with one another Quote
 

“Any city however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich. These are at war with one another” — Plato

 

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Wars against nations are fought to change maps; wars against poverty are fought to map change Quote
 

“Wars against nations are fought to change maps; wars against poverty are fought to map change” — Muhammad Ali

 

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There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty Quote
 

“There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty” — Andrew Cuomo

 

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The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but the stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political contests will become a war of the poor against the rich; a war growing in intensity and bitterness Quote
 

“The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but the stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political contests will become a war of the poor against the rich; a war growing in intensity and bitterness” — Justice Stephen J. Field

 

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War has but one thing certain, to increase taxes Quote
 

“War involves in its progress such a train of unforeseen circumstances that no human wisdom can calculate the end; it has but one thing certain, and that is to increase taxes” — Thomas Paine

 

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Socrates All wars are fought for money quote
 

“All wars are fought for money” — Socrates

 

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Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education… no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both Quote
 

“Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education… no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both” — Abraham Flexner

 

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Buy when the cannons are firing, and sell when the trumpets are blowing Quote
 

“Buy when the cannons are firing, and sell when the trumpets are blowing” — Nathan Rothschild

 

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One of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War Quote
 

“If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War” — George Washington, fifth annual address to Congress, Dec. 13, 1793

 

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History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap Quote
 

“History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap” — Ronald Reagan

 

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War and preparations for war are possible only because the ruling classes are able to shift a great part of the cost onto the poor by indirect taxation and loans Quote
 

“There would be an end of war and preparations for war if the cost were borne by those responsible for war. There would be an end of armaments and preparedness if incomes and inheritances and the landed estates of the feudal classes paid for the protection which their privileges enjoy. War and preparations for war are possible only because the ruling classes are able to shift a great part of the cost onto the poor by indirect taxation and loans. War expenditures are tolerated only because the burdens are concealed in the increased cost of the things people consume” — Frederic Clemson Howe

 

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Philip Randolph Make wars unprofitable and you make them impossible Quote
 

“Make wars unprofitable and you make them impossible” — Philip Randolph

 

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For most of history, war has been a more or less functional institution, providing benefits for those societies that were good at it, although the cost in money, in lives, and in suffering was always significant Quote
 

“For most of history, war has been a more or less functional institution, providing benefits for those societies that were good at it, although the cost in money, in lives, and in suffering was always significant. Only in the past century have large numbers of people begun to question the basic assumption of civilized societies that war is inevitable and often useful” — Gwynne Dyer

 

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Peace, which costs nothing, is attended with infinitely more advantage than any victory with all its expense Quote
 

“Peace, which costs nothing, is attended with infinitely more advantage than any victory with all its expense” — Thomas Paine

 

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Terrorism is the war of the poor, & war is the terrorism of the rich Quote
 

“Terrorism is the war of the poor, & war is the terrorism of the rich — Sir Peter Ustinov

 

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War is never economically beneficial except for those in position to profit from war expenditures Quote
 

“War is never economically beneficial except for those in position to profit from war expenditures” — Ron Paul

 

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Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later Quote
 

“Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later” — Benjamin Franklin

 

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All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones Quote
 

“All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones” — Benjamin Franklin

 

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Almost all war making states borrow extensively, raise taxes, and seize the means of combat - including men - from reluctant citizens Quote
 

“Almost all war making states borrow extensively, raise taxes, and seize the means of combat – including men – from reluctant citizens” — Charles Tilly

 

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War-making is one of the few activities that people are not supposed to view ‘realistically’; that is, with an eye to expense and practical outcome. In all-out war, expenditure is all-out, unprudent—war being defined as an emergency in which no sacrifice is excessive Quote
 

“War-making is one of the few activities that people are not supposed to view ‘realistically’; that is, with an eye to expense and practical outcome. In all-out war, expenditure is all-out, unprudent—war being defined as an emergency in which no sacrifice is excessive” — Susan Sontag

 

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Victory was never in doubt. Its cost was Quote
 

“Victory was never in doubt. Its cost was” — General Graves B. Erskine

 

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The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people Quote
 

“The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people” — Ron Paul

 

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Boys are the cash of war. Whoever said: we're not free spenders- doesn't know our like Quote
 

“Boys are the cash of war. Whoever said: we’re not free spenders- doesn’t know our like” — John Ciardi

 

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We don't want to fight, but by jingo if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too Quote
 

“We don’t want to fight, but by jingo if we do, We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men, we’ve got the money too” — G.W. Hunt

 

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The most successful war seldom pays for its losses Quote
 

“The most successful war seldom pays for its losses” — Thomas Jefferson

 

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When after many battles past, Both tir’d with blows, make peace at last, What is it, after all, the people get? Why! taxes, widows, wooden legs, and debt Quote
 

“When after many battles past, Both tir’d with blows, make peace at last, What is it, after all, the people get? Why! taxes, widows, wooden legs, and debt” — Francis Moore

 
 

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