Based on the fact that I live next to Long Beach, CA this site calculated the following waste of money:

Taxpayers in Long Beach City, California paid $1.2 billion for total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, any one of the following could have been provided: 510,171 People with Health Care for One Year 2,208,521 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year 22,144 Public Safety Officers for One year 17,510 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year 186,282 Scholarships for University Students for One Year 231,686 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5350 3,710 Affordable Housing Units 463,343 Children with Health Care for One Year 148,268 Head Start Places for Children for One Year 17,803 Elementary School Teachers for One Year 15,655 Port Container Inspectors for One year

There aren't 2,208,521 homes in Long Beach, but you get the idea...