Right, so year-by-year, it'll be the same order of magnitude of cost as the Iraq war, except the war was always planned to end eventually whereas the "community service" plan is planned to go on forever.

Justifying one enormous waste of money by saying "Oh well, at least it's not as big a waste of money as that other waste of money" isn't a good way to run a budget.

Would you run your personal budget that way? "Aw geez, well I bought a $300,000 boat last month, so I guess it's okay to buy a $100,000 car now."

I think the difference here is that the money would actually have some sort of return, rather than just fill the pockets of defense contractors. Theoretically, it would get more people into college or help them stay there, improve communities everywhere in small ways that add up to a lot, and maybe, just maybe (doubtful), teach people to care about the people around them.

I agree, though, that big spending plans are things we should be very skeptical of. To be honest, I know some people who do run their personal budget like that.