Can “We” Afford Another War?
A reader sent me this (at left), and I thought I’d answer his question, i.e., “How can we afford another war?”
The answer lies in what is meant by the word “we.” If you believe that “we the people,” i.e., the general American citizenry, have any substantive role in guiding this nation, I’m afraid you are incorrect.
Though the vast majority of Americans are fine people, and many of us go to extraordinary ends to protect one another from the horrors of life, the only “we” who controls anything of consequence here is a tiny sliver of the population. “They,” which includes Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, General Dynamics and Raytheon, can most certainly afford another war; in fact, they can’t afford not to have one. At the same time, “they” couldn’t care less about poverty, hunger, healthcare, education, environmental protection, or any other aspect of the well-being of the common American.
Craig,
The real question can America afford not to be vigilant?
Given your hatred of the American military and military logistics industry, your hatred of the only President for decades who pursues policies of reducing US military costs and military adventures, is surprising and illogical.
How will destroying one of America’s highest paying and hugely profitable industries, assist “poverty, hunger, healthcare, education, environmental protection, or any other aspect of the well-being of the common American” ?
Given the huge contribution the defense industry provides for employment, the tax base for Federal state and municipal authorities, valuable export income and domestic economic activity, it would appear this is just another poorly considered leftist emotive economic disaster in the making!
According to the US Bureau of Statistics, the US National defense industry has more than 977,328 workers at firms employing 10,000 people or more. A further 3.7 million work in smaller firms and more than 34 million work for firms with military contracts.
These figures do not include suppliers of food and energy, or ancillary services.
The economic activity generated is immense and interwoven into the US economy.
Schools, infrastructure, services etc, are all secondary employers for the families of defense workers and military personnel.
The silly, and simplistic idea that this activity can be diverted into “plowshares” is neither practical or viable!
The President should be praised for his insistence that other industrialized nations either pay the fair share of the US defense umbrella, or develop their own.
Like your hero Bernie Saunders or Elizabeth Warren, you can never explain how the daft ideas would actually work.
Moaning and bleating silly platitudes, are no substitute for real policies.
Your solution for poverty and unemployment is more social workers and welfare.
In contrast, the president offers jobs, jobs and more jobs by creating more economic activity.
You offer a permanent poverty trap, the President offers aspirational growth for all.