Rich, I wonder if defense spending hasn't made the US what it is today. I won't comment on the quality of life but it is the most technologically advanced nation today. Because of the research in defense spending and space (part of defense), great strides were made in electronics, computers, lasers, etc. Some of the spinoffs are still just being developed today - laser teeth whitening, etc. What private company would do research and share the R+D, especially if commercial applications were 10 years away? Scaling back of the US defense after the Vietnam War, caused massive layoffs in some Canadian plants. When the US thought the Russians might develop space weapons first, massive research went into that. I was watching the movie Apollo 13 and the power (battery) troubles, and thought, with that kind of technology, you could easily have a battery/electric car that is vastly superior to gasonline engines. Of course, that won't happen for a few years, it would disrupt the world economy too much. But the technology is there to use, just as oil was there when coal was no longer in vogue.
So perhaps some military spending is good - yes I know they like $800 hammers and $250 ashtrays. |
