3 ms·

Do conventional businesses, of which there are far more than defense contractors, lack lobbying ability of their own?

by missedthecue 5y ago

mikewarot 5y ago
They don't have a budget from a Trillion dollars per year of revenue at higher than average profit margins to defend.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  The military budget is ~$700B and more than half of that is personnel costs going to your recruits and staff. About $300B goes to procurement annually, and not just weapons. There are uniforms, engines, paint, cleaning supplies, food, fuel, etc... That's less revenue for an entire industry than Apple or Walmart does per year.
- onepointsixC 5y ago
  Defense spending has never been a majority of US GDP, at most representing just over 40% at the high of WW2, reaching at most 12% of GDP again during the Korean war, but remained below 6% over the past 40 years. So how exactly are you proposing that less than 6% of the economy is directing the other 94%. Because that doesn't make any sense. For that matter, if war is so profitable and defense such a good market, why have so many companies which used to have major defense business exited that business? In WW2 just about every big business was partaking in the war effort. Companies like Ford Motors was producing aircraft and tanks. Ford has long left defense, and what remaining companies are in the sector have been consolidating or dying. Not exactly the sign of a booming industry.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  Did the defense industry have this huge budget back in the pre-WW1 days, though? (Genuine question, I honestly have no idea)
  - onepointsixC 5y ago
    The Defense budget today is at a historic low [1], unmatched by just about any time other than before WW2. [1]: https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dod_chart.jpg?resize=1536,1024 https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dod_cha...

3 ms·

Do conventional businesses, of which there are far more than defense contractors, lack lobbying ability of their own?

by missedthecue 5y ago

Do conventional businesses, of which there are far more than defense contractors, lack lobbying ability of their own?

mikewarot 5y ago
They don't have a budget from a Trillion dollars per year of revenue at higher than average profit margins to defend.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  The military budget is ~$700B and more than half of that is personnel costs going to your recruits and staff. About $300B goes to procurement annually, and not just weapons. There are uniforms, engines, paint, cleaning supplies, food, fuel, etc... That's less revenue for an entire industry than Apple or Walmart does per year.
- onepointsixC 5y ago
  Defense spending has never been a majority of US GDP, at most representing just over 40% at the high of WW2, reaching at most 12% of GDP again during the Korean war, but remained below 6% over the past 40 years. So how exactly are you proposing that less than 6% of the economy is directing the other 94%. Because that doesn't make any sense. For that matter, if war is so profitable and defense such a good market, why have so many companies which used to have major defense business exited that business? In WW2 just about every big business was partaking in the war effort. Companies like Ford Motors was producing aircraft and tanks. Ford has long left defense, and what remaining companies are in the sector have been consolidating or dying. Not exactly the sign of a booming industry.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  Did the defense industry have this huge budget back in the pre-WW1 days, though? (Genuine question, I honestly have no idea)
  - onepointsixC 5y ago
    The Defense budget today is at a historic low [1], unmatched by just about any time other than before WW2. [1]: https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dod_chart.jpg?resize=1536,1024 https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dod_cha...