[take_a_breath]

It is rarely mentioned how deficit spending leads directly to private wealth creation. Increased military spending actually means increased outsourcing. It’s a transfer of wealth from the collective (future taxpayers) to the private (contractors and businesses).

[3fe9a03ccd14ca5]

Is there something inherent to the defense industry that’s not true also for other industries?

[take_a_breath]

Other than the amount of government money they receive, not particularly. Same thing would happen if we increased deficit spending for education purposes. Schools might bring in more external for mental health, contract out food preparation, provide tablets for all students, etc. Each of those would be a transfer of money from public (taxpayers) to private hands (contractors and companies).

One could argue that investing in a bomb that explodes in another country doesn't create as much economic value as using that same money to invest in the education of an American child.

Eisenhower had some thoughts when he left office [1]:

==This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.==

==Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow. ==

[1] https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/eisenhower001.asp