The point that I was trying to make, which apparently must be downvoted into oblivion, is that comparing big numbers to really huge numbers leads to some very distorted conclusions. No matter how really huge the defense budget is[1], spending $20 on a drinking straw is a lot.

Speaking of someone who has been on the receiving end of lots of research money throughout my career, still...$6 billion is a lot of money, and it should not be wasted. I agree with the original article that a new particle collider probably is not what we should do with this money.

[1] (and yes I agree it's too much--go fight that battle if you like, but you probably won't win a single cent back)