The Defense Stimulus

[Fuchs]

http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/200...ense-stimulus/
2009-01-13

This topic isn't new (and the article is quite superficial in my opinion):

http://defense-and-freedom.blogspot....-20092010.html
2008-12-14

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123008280526532053.html
2008-12-24

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2399
2009-01-02

http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2...-would-be.html
2009-01-07

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0108/p01s03-usmi.html
2009-01-08

http://solari.com/blog/?p=1983
2009-01-09

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Econo...6614384&page=1
2009-01-11

The DoD budget as a whole is dangerously inflated and needs to be cut to a level that can be financed without new debt (federal budget deficit and trade balance deficit tell me that the Bush II years budgets were obviously not sustainable).

The present - seemingly paradox- situation is that defense budgets could be used to stimulate the economy - but only to some degree. Military spending in itself is harmful for a nation's macroeconomics, and even the stimulus concept is questionable (don't trust the propaganda for stimulus).
It might be a good idea to spend earlier, though. Repairs, construction work and procurement planned for 2011-2013 could be moved into 2009-2011.
Such a shifting of expenses in time would be almost neutral tot he long-term debt situation.


We should always keep in mind that government debt can expose and weaken us militarily just as well as 'too' small military budgets can do.
I don't remember a single example of an already broke government that entered and won a major war in military history (excluding the irrelevant Third World participants of WW2).