What can $165 million buy?

Funny ... while some people say the $165 million in fraudulent bonuses to AIG is a "grain of sand on the beach" that amount is 5 times more $$$ than the U.S. govt. has allotted since 1996 to keep native birds in Hawaii from going extinct.

From the story:

"At the moment, more than a third of the bird species listed under the Endangered Species Act are in Hawaii, but state and federal agencies spent only $30.6 million on endangered birds there between 1996 and 2004 ..."

"With sufficient funds, Wallace argued, federal managers could restore Hawaiian birds' habitat and protect them against introduced species such as pigs, sheep, and deer that threaten their survival. He estimated it would cost roughly $15 million to erect extensive fencing for the Palila, a Hawaiian honeycreeper whose numbers declined from 6,600 birds in 2003 to 2,200 in 2008."

Think about this when someone says "$165 million is a just a drop in the bucket ..."

UPDATE: Now the AP is reporting the total is $218 million.