Worthwhile Sentences on Economic Problems

From True/Slant: "about 1/3 of cosmetic surgery is consumed by people who make less than $30,000 a year."

From the Freakonomics Blog: "Assuming all 5.5 trillion cigarettes produced around the world each year get smoked, smokers produce 84,878 tons of particulate air pollution annually — about half the pollution put out by all the cars in America."

From Matt Yglesias: "Why are we spending a multiple of Afghanistan’s total GDP on fighting a war in the country?" and "Couldn't more be done, for cheaper, with cash for bribes and development?"

From Tyler Cowen: "We no longer have an independent central bank in this country, at least not for the time being."

From Thomas Jefferson: "I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

*Past worthwhile sentences.