30 Teachers in New York or 2 Soldiers In Central Asia, Which is More Important?

As the U.S. is in debt and running out of money, tough decisions need to be made. For the purpose of provoking thought, let's use one example to contrast the cutbacks being made in social services in this country with the expenditures being made for our military overseas.

For one New York State school system, Minisink Valley, cutbacks in state aid means firing 27 teachers for a school system with less then 5000 students. The students are angry and protesting the decision, and as one student said, "only one of my teachers next year is going to be here. The rest of them are fired."

One soldier in Iraq or Afganistan costs roughly 1 million U.S. dollars each year. That would pay for 15 teachers each year in Minisink Valley if one uses the average salary of a Minisink Valley teacher as a guide.

That leaves us with the following equation. Bring just two soldiers back from Central Asia, and you could keep all 27 teachers as well as hire 3 new teachers for Minisink Valley. Which is more important?