Many thanks...

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Monday, May 10, 2010

Some Romanians, a French Guy, and an American Girl Walked into a Breakout Session...


...and confirmed what everyone knew: American military spending is out.of.control. 41.5% ($607B) of the world share.

Romania, on the other hand, spends about $2B (1.3% of GDP) while France spends $55B (2.3% of GDP). There was also talk of Romania's increased spending since its entrance into NATO, and their need to continuously purchase military equipment because they always buy used.

The U.S. and France found themselves on the list of top 15 countries in terms of military spending, making their tax-paying citizens amongst the top 15 investment losers.

In other news, the group talked about issues we would like to see our countries invest in and came up with the following:
  • Romania: infrastructure. A highway is currently under construction which costs 18M€/km (kudos to the American company...figures), but once it's finished, it will boost tourism, jobs, transportation, etc.
  • France: education, health care, housing.
  • U.S.: health care. Current spending is about 16% of GDP, and there could be much more investment in preventative care and addressing the problem of the high numbers of uninsured.
Military spending group, signing out...

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