There are a number of other costs, some potentially quite large, although quantifying them is problematic. For instance, Americans pay some $300 billion annually for the “option value” of military preparedness – being able to fight wherever needed.
还有一些其他花费，尽管确定它们的数量是困难的，但是其中某些花费潜在性地非常巨大。例如，美国人每年为军事准备的“期权价值”支付3000亿美元。所谓军事准备，也就是有能力在需要的时候随时作战。美国人愿意付这笔钱表明期权价值超过成本。但是毫无疑问，这一期权价值被大为损害了，而且在几年内还将是如此。