I took a stab at this at URPE a couple of years ago--comparing several ex-empires to ours along the dimensions of healthcare, education, free time, childcare, paid leave. (Actually I've given a similar presentation two other times as well.) And I used the example of oil prices, popularly imagined to be lowered by U.S. military might. Of course if oil (and the oil majors) suffer from overproduction, then it's a different matter. Then the invasion of Iraq is intended to provide rivers of cheap petroleum to all those SUV owners, but is instead shoring up prices. (SUV owners, then, would be suffering _more_ than us mere mortals who drive cars or ride bikes.)
What I needed and did not have was the percentage of household expenditure that goes to purchase the cheapened plastic crap of Wal-Mart and such. My feeling is it's got to be low, since most family expenditures go to housing, food, medical care, utilities, education, etc. But quantifying it would be nice. What is the empire subsidy and how does it compare, for example, to the massive surcharge we pay to health insurance companies or for-profit utilities or in military-related taxes?
Jenny Brown