Hahaha.... You completely misunderstand me. I do not think it is important. In fact, if you made me king, I would cut defense spending in half and launch a massive new deal, reindustrialization program and a massive rebuilding of programs and policies that built and sustained the amazingly rare (in the broad sweep of world history) Ameri…
Hahaha.... You completely misunderstand me. I do not think it is important. In fact, if you made me king, I would cut defense spending in half and launch a massive new deal, reindustrialization program and a massive rebuilding of programs and policies that built and sustained the amazingly rare (in the broad sweep of world history) American middle classes. It is important only in the sense that it has woven itself into the fabric of the US economy and is massively politically powerful. Defense spending ("outlays") accounted for 50 percent of total discretionary spending in FY '23.
I am afraid that your impression that what is left of US industry has been infiltrated by the MIC is very much exagerated
US MIC runs assembly lines for elements fabricated elsewhere
Check out Boeing for an icon of out sourcing
You think it is politically powerful because of the propaganda, but this is a PR machine which works only inside the US, and PR, while necessary, is not an important indicator of political power : money is, the serious money is Wall Street
- this has been true in all industrial economies for over 200 years
The 50% of Fed discretionary spending on the MIC is a very small sum of money, in comparison to the economy - and is only this size because the US gvmt has given up on any spending on any economic or social programs other than for PR
For someone who does not think the MIC is important, you sure think it is important
Just one example from many of the in capacity of the US MIC to make any armaments
When they invaded Ukraine in 2022, and when having realised that they needed to manufacture more artillery shells, having quickly emptied their stocks, the Pentagon looked around for somehow somewhere someone to do so
The in country plants such as survived were decrepit and in disarray, but they thought to try and tidy up one in Scranton, despite the WWII machinery and technology still in use
That’s as far as they had gotten when during 2023 negotiations with Erdogan someone had the smarts to tell him that if he wanted a deal he’d have to supply install build and operate a shell factory
For Erdogan nothing could have been easier – General Dynamics managed to commission the building and slap on their logo, but the rest was down to the Turks: the PR claims this factory, still being assembled, will provide 30% of US shell production
That’s the US MIC – fighting proxy wars with proxy arms men and money
Hahaha.... You completely misunderstand me. I do not think it is important. In fact, if you made me king, I would cut defense spending in half and launch a massive new deal, reindustrialization program and a massive rebuilding of programs and policies that built and sustained the amazingly rare (in the broad sweep of world history) American middle classes. It is important only in the sense that it has woven itself into the fabric of the US economy and is massively politically powerful. Defense spending ("outlays") accounted for 50 percent of total discretionary spending in FY '23.
I am afraid that your impression that what is left of US industry has been infiltrated by the MIC is very much exagerated
US MIC runs assembly lines for elements fabricated elsewhere
Check out Boeing for an icon of out sourcing
You think it is politically powerful because of the propaganda, but this is a PR machine which works only inside the US, and PR, while necessary, is not an important indicator of political power : money is, the serious money is Wall Street
- this has been true in all industrial economies for over 200 years
The 50% of Fed discretionary spending on the MIC is a very small sum of money, in comparison to the economy - and is only this size because the US gvmt has given up on any spending on any economic or social programs other than for PR
For someone who does not think the MIC is important, you sure think it is important
See the MIC for the fake it is
There is not much else left here! McDonalds? WalMart? Hahaha. Ghetto jobs. "The economy" is a hollowed out worthless shell.
Just one example from many of the in capacity of the US MIC to make any armaments
When they invaded Ukraine in 2022, and when having realised that they needed to manufacture more artillery shells, having quickly emptied their stocks, the Pentagon looked around for somehow somewhere someone to do so
The in country plants such as survived were decrepit and in disarray, but they thought to try and tidy up one in Scranton, despite the WWII machinery and technology still in use
That’s as far as they had gotten when during 2023 negotiations with Erdogan someone had the smarts to tell him that if he wanted a deal he’d have to supply install build and operate a shell factory
For Erdogan nothing could have been easier – General Dynamics managed to commission the building and slap on their logo, but the rest was down to the Turks: the PR claims this factory, still being assembled, will provide 30% of US shell production
That’s the US MIC – fighting proxy wars with proxy arms men and money