To obtain local cost breakdowns, we calculated each state's share of taxes paid into federal funds revenues (based on IRS data). This includes individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, excise, gift and estate taxes. Each state's share of taxes was then multiplied by the total amount of the given item. The Congressional District share is based on its population and median household income relative to the total state figure.

Ballistic Missile Defense: According to the Center for Arms Control and Nuclear Proliferation, the total proposed
spending for ballistic missile defense in the fiscal year 2009 budget would
be $12.2 billion. This amount includes Space Based Infra-Red System - High.

Nuclear Weapons: According to the Budget of the United States Government, FY2009, spending on Department of Energy's Atomic Energy Defense Activities would be $15.9 billion.

Cost of Iraq War: The total amount allocated for war and occupation in Iraq is approximately $525.9 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. Additional requests of $83.8 billion for Fiscal Year 2008, and $51.65 Fiscal Year 2009 are currently pending approval. The total amount allocated for the Iraq War will be updated if and when that additional legislation is passed.

The total cost figure is based on an analysis of the legislation in which Congress has allocated money for war so far. Funding for the war has been initiated by the Bush Administration in supplementals:

• FY2003 Supplemental: Operation Iraqi Freedom), made in March 2003, was for $74.8 billion. Passed within a month of the request, the final allocation amounted to $78.5 billion, at least $54.4 billion of which was for the war in Iraq.
• FY2004 Supplemental: Iraq and Afghanistan Ongoing Operations/Reconstruction, for $87 billion, was submitted in September 2003 and passed Congress in November 2003. The final allocation amounted to $87.5 billion, of which $70.6 billion was for Iraq.
• Budget Amendment: $25 Emergency Reserve Fund (Department of Defense - Iraq Freedom Fund) was made in May 2004 and was passed by Congress as part of the Department of Defense appropriations bill in July 2004. Based on Iraq War spending, of the $25 billion appropriated, about $21.5 billion was for the war in Iraq.
• Estimate #1 - Emergency Supplemental (various agencies): Ongoing Military Operations in the War on Terror; Reconstruction Activities in Afghanistan; Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction; and Other Purposes - 2/14/05 was made in February 2005 and passed by Congress in April 2005. The final allocation amounted to $82 billion, of which about $58 billion was for the Iraq War.
• Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 2006 (i.e. war funding not initiated by a supplemental request) included $50 billion in a 'bridge fund' for war funding. Based on past Iraq War spending, approximately $40 billion of that can be counted for the Iraq War.
• Estimate #3-FY 2006 Emergency Supplemental (various agencies): Ongoing Military, Diplomatic, and Intelligence Operations in the Global War on Terror; Stabilization and Counter-Insurgency Activities in Iraq and Afghanistan; and Other Humanitarian Assistance-2/16/06 was for $72.4 billion, of which about $60 billion war for the Iraq War.
• Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007 appropriated another $70 billion in a bridge fund for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, of which approximately 85%, or $59.5 billion, is for the Iraq War. This additional money will fund the conflict through March of 2007.
• Additional 2007 and 2008 Proposals, Other Materials contains the administration's supplemental request for an additional $100 billion in war spending in FY 2007. NPP estimates that about $78.1 billion of the money appropriated will be spent (has been spent) on the war in Iraq.
• The Consolidated Appropriations Bill of 2008 appropriated $70 billion for the Iraq war for fiscal year 2008, $55.9 billion of which is for Iraq.  Another $108 billion in war spending is still pending approval for fiscal year 2008.  Of that, $83.8 billion is for the Iraq war.
• Estimate #2—FY 2009 Emergency Budget Amendments: Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Selected Other International Activities—5/2/08  contains the Presidents FY 2009 request for $70 billion in war spending for the first three months of FY2009. Our analysis shows that approximately $51.7 billion of that amount is for Iraq.

Please note that the Department of Defense was also permitted by legislation to transfer funds from other operations (peacetime, Afghanistan, etc.) to the Iraq War, and so estimating war costs based on Congressional legislation is not enough. An article offered by the Strauss Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information offers greater insight into the problems of truly knowing how much has been spent on the Iraq War or other military operations. A Congressional Research Service report also discusses the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trade-Offs:

Elementary School Teachers, Music and Arts Teachers, Public Safety Officers, Police Officers, Firefighters, Nurses, and any other occupation: Each state's number is based on the average amount of annual pay an elementary school teacher receives, plus 25% for other expenses associated with employment such as benefits. These numbers are for 2005 from the Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, and they cover one year of employment. 

Head Start Places for Children: We calculated cost per child numbers for each state based on state numbers from the Administration of Children and Families' Head Start Bureau. These numbers are from 2005.

People or Children Receiving Health Care: The state numbers are for one year of coverage and are based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Data Compendium. They represent the average Medicaid outlays per person or per child in each state for 1999 and 2000, and then are forecasted for 2005.

Elementary Schools: The cost of a new elementary school is based on the median amount spent on a 65,000 square foot elementary school in 2005, as reported by the School Planning and Management's 11th Annual Construction Report. A 65,000 square foot elementary school can accommodate roughly 500 students. Regional differences in cost are reflected in each states totals.

Scholarships for University Students: The number for each state is based on the cost of tuition and fees for one year at that state's flagship university for the 2005-2006 academic year. Data on tuition and fees are available at the National Center for Education Statistics' College Opportunities On-Line (COOL).

Affordable Housing Units: The number for each state is based on Census 1990 and 2000 housing values. We have taken the average of the median and lower quartile values, and forecasted for 2005. This may be a fairly rough estimate of what is would cost to build affordable housing, but does constitute a good estimate of an inexpensive housing unit in each state.

Housing Vouchers: On average, each housing voucher is worth $6,665. While there is some variation between cities, we used the national average for each state because it represented the best guide for the value of a housing voucher. This amount is from the Congressional Budget Office.

Students receiving Pell Grants of $4050: The maximum Pell Grant award is currently set at $4050. We used that number for each of the states and for the United States as a whole. Information on the Federal Pell Grant Program can be found at the Office of Postsecondary Education at the US Department of Education.

Homes with Renewable Electricity : The average kWh per home was calculated with data from the Energy Information Administration on total residential electricity useage (by state) and number occupied households. The cost of wind energy is approximately 8 cents per kWh according to research done by Ryan Wiser and Edward Kahn at Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory. For our estimations, we've used 8 cents.