Biggest outlay in US history

If you are thinking that the current economic crisis is a flash in the pan, or something that will be over anytime soon, you may want to look at these figures compiled by Jim Bianco. He measured the inflation adjusted cost of various historical spending by the US government.

• 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

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

World War Two cost an inflation adjusted $3.6 trillion.

And how much has the current bailout cost? Depending on where you read, it is anywhere between $4.615 trillion, $7.76 trillion and $8.5 trillion.

The bailouts this year have cost more than the above listed events combined.

And a full trillion dollars more than the Second World War.

And just to cheer you up a little bit more, here is a graph comparing the current trend of the S&P 500, with various other bear markets, such as the Dot Com bubble and the Great Depression.

Yes, the future is not looking rosy.

And just to depress you further. Peter Schiff was on Bloomberg again, and he was again reasoning that all of this bailout money will create more problems than it solves. When 4.6 trillion is pumped into the system, it takes time for its effect to be felt. 2009 could see “hyperinflation” he argues, along with gold doubling in price, and the dollar plummeting in value.