[mkleczek]

> Insofar as the country being conquered and Americans being slaughtered wholesale would be against our economic interests lol > There are clear national security reasons for the government to prop up shipbuilding and semiconductors.

Are you saying countries without shipbuilding facilities or not producing semicondutors are being conquered and their citizens being slaughtered?

I'd say that is fear mongering done by the people doing business on "national security".

[sfifs]

> Are you saying countries without shipbuilding facilities or not producing semicondutors are being conquered and their citizens being slaughtered?

Yes that is a clear risk. For most of human history, powerful leaders have unleashed violence on their neighbors to increase their wealth and prestige. For about 70 years, the cold war balance prevented very catastrophic wars between powerful nations but we now seem to be having an atavistic throw back of powerful nations being led by expansionist leaders. You either need to create your own manufacturing capacity or be at the mercy of others.

[SR2Z]

You can call it fearmongering but I can point to the whole of human history and tell you that not only has it happened, at a certain point it is inevitable. I can point at Ukraine, right now, as an example of what happens when one country appears much weaker than an aggressive neighbor.

The United States is the greatest power the world has ever seen. While the oceans protect us, the truth is that even the White House was once burned down in a war.