16 Things That Costs Less Than the Government Shutdown
Where the money could have gone instead.
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Money Well Spent? - The government shutdown lasted 16 long days, barely ended before the government defaulted on its debt, and caused an international economic crisis. Economists at Standard & Poor's estimate the total cost of the shutdown to be about $24 billion. In this list, we go shopping with that $24 billion, cashing out on some practical — and extravagant — goods and services. —Dominique Zonyéé (Photo: Oleg Prikhodko/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Oleg Prikhodko/Getty Images
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6,315 Super Bowl Ads - The Super Bowl is one of the most watched events in America. For Super Bowl XLVII, CBS sold its ad inventory between $3.7 million and $3.8 million, according to Ad Age.(Photo: Courtesy of Coca Cola)
Photo By Photo: Courtesy of Coca Cola
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9,619,238 Kanye West Diamond Grills - “Diamonds on my neck, diamonds on my grill,” singer Kelis said on her 2009 hit song Bossy. But Kanye West took it literally in 2010 when he iced out the entire bottom row of his teeth with a $2,495 grill. With the money the government spent on the shutdown, millions of Americans — every resident of New York City and then some — can be flossing like ‘Ye.(Photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)
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The American Red Cross' Total Annual Operating Expenses for Seven Years - From Hurricane Sandy to the drought in Namibia to Cyclone Phailin in India, the American Red Cross is one of the first responders for natural disasters. The organization posted total operating expenses of $3.3 billion for fiscal year 2012. The government could have footed the Red Cross bill for seven years and still have some to spare.(Photo: THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images)
Photo By THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images
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Free School Lunch for 8.3 Billion Children - Low‐cost or free lunches were provided to more than 31 million children each school day in 2011. Since the government refunds a school about $2.86 (or more) for a free lunch, the amount of children to receive free school lunch could have increased by billions.(Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: ohn Moore/Getty Images
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100 People for Five Years Aboard Diddy’s iPad Controlled Yacht - Not everyone can afford to spend $850,000 per week on a tech savvy, iPad-controlled yacht like Diddy. But with cash from the government shutdown, you could afford to call Diddy’s yacht home for more than a decade.(Photo: WENN.com)
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Free Breast Cancer Screenings for 141,176,470 Women and Men - The average Medicare rate for a mammogram screening is $170. Although prices vary based on location and insurance, the irony about this factoid is that the government shutdown ended in the same week as National Mammogram Day. (Photo: Todd Pearson/Getty Images)
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Nearly 5,000 Engagement Rings Like Beyoncé’s - Imagine how many guys could have “put a ring on it” with Beyoncé’s $5 million Lorraine Schwartz 18-carat engagement ring.(Photos from left: PacificCoastNews.com, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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11 More Days of Social Security - How many times have we heard that ‘80s and '90s babies' Social Security will be depleted by the time they are set to receive it? The U.S. spent $773 billion on Social Security in the fiscal year 2012, and without the shutdown it could have afford to pay for a couple of more days.(Photo: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)
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The GDP for Zimbabwe, Somalia and Fiji - It’s hard to fathom that the shutdown amount equates to more than the total Gross Domestic Product for Zimbabwe (GDP $10.81 billion for 2012), Somalia (last document GDP of $917.0 million for 1990) and Fiji (GDP $3.882 billion for 2012) combined. (Photo: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko)
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1,078,119 Children Could Go to College for Free in Their Home State - We all know college is expensive. In-state tuition costs an average $22,261, according to the College Board. I bet you are staring a hole through your student loan bills as you read this one.(Photo: Ana Abejon/Getty Images)
Photo By Ana Abejon/Getty Images
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9,600 People Could Have Woke Up in a New Bugatti - Drake “started from the bottom” and then “woke up in a new Bugatti.” For a cool $2.5 million, thousands of people could cop the Bugatti Veyron, too.(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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87,944 New Homes for "Average" Americans - A free, government-issued home sounds like a dream that many of us will never see come true. The average new home price in the U.S. is $272,900, according to the 2010 Census.(Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
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90,000 Hermès Crocodile Birkin Bags - Ah, the price of high fashion! With the government shutdown, thousands of people could be walking around with $60,000 purses.(Photo: Hermes)
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Pay the $20 Billion Tab for Hurricane Sandy Damage - The damage to the East Coast from 2012’s Hurricane Sandy aftermath is astronomical. The subways were submerged in water, thousands of homes and apartments were destroyed and more. With one shutdown, the government could have cleared the damages with money to spare.(Photo: AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
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Buy 7.1 Billion Gallons of Gas for Americans - The average gas price right now is $3.36 — that is if it doesn’t go up any time soon. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)