Let's talk about the price of a single Patriot missile. According to the U.S. Army's FY2025 budget documentation, a PAC-3 MSE interceptor costs approximately $4.2 million per unit. Some estimates put it higher—between $3.8 and $5.6 million depending on the variant and what's included in the contract.

We literally spend $4 million building something to blow it up.

My Medicare Part B premium is about $300 a month. Medicaid usually pays for that, but as you're all aware, I still haven't been approved for South Carolina Medicaid. They're going to take the first two months of premiums out of this coming month's disability payment. Which means I'm going to receive about $700 less. And I have to find a way to live off $600 for the month.

One single Patriot missile could pay my Medicare premium for 1,167 years.

Let that sink in.

One missile equals healthcare for over eleven hundred years.

I'm Tired of This

I'm tired of this. I'm tired of a certain group of people thinking they're patriots and the rest of us aren't.

I point out things I see as ridiculous. That doesn't make me less of a patriot. I'd say it makes me more. I don't think there's anything more patriotic you can do than exercise your First Amendment right.

Stop letting politicians tell you that we can't afford universal healthcare. That we can't do this, we can't do that. There are plenty of ways to turn a dollar into two dollars. If I can figure it out, the government should be able to.

The Math

We're currently firing these missiles at Iranian drones that cost around $30,000 to build. We're spending $4.2 million to stop a $30,000 threat.

During the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury in Iran, U.S. forces intercepted 282 ballistic missiles and 833 drones. That's over 1,100 intercepts in three days. At $4.2 million per missile, that's potentially $4.6 billion in three days—assuming a one-to-one intercept ratio, which isn't always the case.

Lockheed Martin's Camden, Arkansas facility—the sole U.S. manufacturer of PAC-3 MSE interceptors—produced a record 500+ missiles in 2024. They're planning to eventually hit 2,000 per year. But at current combat consumption rates, the entire annual output could theoretically be consumed in less than a week of sustained operations.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting on a caseworker to hit a key on a keyboard to approve my Medicaid so I don't have to pay $300 a month for healthcare.

The Bottom Line

I'm not saying we shouldn't defend ourselves. I'm not saying we shouldn't have a military. I'm saying the priorities are screwed.

One missile could pay my Medicare premium for over eleven hundred years. Or it could pay for healthcare for 50 people for 20 years. Or it could pay for medications for hundreds of people who are struggling to afford them right now.

But instead, we're shooting them into the sky and blowing them up.

And politicians keep telling us we can't afford to take care of our own people.

I call bullshit.