Yeah, blame the lying thieving military contractor
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bourbon
Thanks Bourbon. But perhaps a quote from his article that the percentage of overall military spending was 50% of the federal budget back then and that it represented 10% of GDP would have put his article in better perspective. I also hear all the time that the top tax bracket back then was 90%.
A quick trip to see what things cost in 1960 reveals this.
$12,700 cost of a NEW house
$2,600 cost of a new car
$220 cost of 23" TV
$20.30 cost of electric razor
30 cents cost of can of Ravioli
25 cents cost of gallon of gas
20 cents cost of loaf of bread
What this shows me is that food and electric devices are still very much a bargain relative to 1960. For instance, I can't imagine paying about the same for a can of Ravioli or a loaf of bread today as a gallon of gas, or $240 for an electric razor. And actually gas is pretty cheap today, too, even at $3 a gallon.
Use that 25 cent cost of 1960 gas as a baseline and multiply by a factor of 12. That same factor correlates pretty well to a car (12 x $2,600 = $31,200) which is a relative bargain considering the modern features you can get for a car that price today. Where that factor fails is in the cost of a house. If you use the median price of a price in the midwest and south, the current price tracks closely with 12 x $12,700 which is $152,400. But try paying that much for a house on the east or west coast and you are in for a rude surprise.
So I would advocate that many of the economic ills we face today are directly attributable to the artificial inflation of houses and incomes in our nation's primary commercial coastal hubs...like Boston. Also, the cost of paying for college is higher today relative to 1960, because apparently professors with Ph.D.s seem to think they are worth more money.
The cost of state civil servants in many of our nations hubs is also driving many problems. California for instance, may have a half trillion dollars in underfunded pension obligations. In San Jose, where I'm originally from, a police officer STARTS at over $80,000 and can make much more with overtime. So Mr. Bacevich's big city contemporaries are contributing to the problem as well, through both high salaries and high pensions. And the fact that Professor Bacevich lives near Boston tells me he probably owns a house worth considerably more than 12 times the average price of a new home in 1960...which in turn drives up prices of neighboring homes, which in turn drives up salaries of all folks living near Boston...increasing that 1 in 7 poverty rate and making affordable, safe, quality housing nearly nonexistent if you desire a reasonable commute.
I also would argue that the threat of an actual nuclear explosion in a major western city is every bit as real a threat today due to the extremists that Bacevich seems to think are an exaggeration. After all, both North Korea, soon Iran, and current Pakistan and India have nukes and targets they would be inclined to use them on either as extreme individual leaders, scientists, or military personnel in those states or while selling them to state-sponsored terrorists (except India). Unlike Russia and China in 1960, extremists don't view MAD the same way. We never experienced any actual attacks by Russians or Chinese since 1960 which is hardly the case reference extremist states and the terrorists they breed.
So no. I don't think our presence in Afghanistan and Iraq are/were worthless exercises or an example of the military-industrial complex, or that military contractors are thieves. Also believe value exists to local economies in having military bases, or military manufacturing facilities nearby. With the price of housing and union demands, civil manufacturing is pretty much dead for many things in the U.S. That is hardly the case for military gear. And it wouldn't have to be the case if those who live near shorelines in inflated real estate allowed off shore oil drilling and wind mills generating electricity. A few new nuclear power plants and oil refineries might help, too. After all, Iran is pumping out 2.6 million barrels of oil a month now thanks to military efforts, believe I read. Think how high the price of oil would be currently if they were still only exporting "oil for food."
Think how much more manufacturing we would generate in the U.S. if everyone studied history in college instead of math and engineering...oh wait...