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> US military spending is one of the major engines that powers the American economy I always get lost on this argument. Americans largely see socialism as evil
by josho 10y ago
> US military spending is one of the major engines that powers the American economy
I always get lost on this argument. Americans largely see socialism as evil (obvious consequence of the cold war). Yet, the argument put forward above is essentially arguing for a special form of socialism that applies only to military contractors.
- ArkyBeagle 10y agoYep. "To provide for the Common Defense" is in our Conftituion. It may be worth reading a bio of Eisenhower to see just how big a shift the pre-WWII drawdown was to the post-WWII equilibrium ( after a span). America was founded against the idea of a standing army for almost all its history.
- pm90 10y agoIt makes sense when you see it from a political viewpoint. Its easier to justify spending money to keep evil at bay, to remain the superpower, for our soldiers etc. Its much harder to convince people that we should be spending more on society, for the poor etc. The rather disappointing results of the "War on Poverty" left many disillusioned with Federal government programs for societal benefits.