The Pentagon's Dreams

February 3, 2008

The bloodshed is down in Iraq, but the dollars keep flowing. George W. Bush's recently announced budget includes almost $142 billion for Iraq in 2008.. and there is a strong possibility that the actual cost will run quite a bit higher. Much of this money is spent inside the United States and goes for American products.. but I guarantee that someday we will look at the expense of this war and imagine how we could have invested that money in projects closer to home.

The regular Pentagon budget spikes up dramatically in the president's 2008 budget. It will come in at $481.4 billion for 2008. So here is my question. It is well known that much of America's industry is fleeing overseas. We don't make a lot of products here in America. But what happens if what we do make is overwhelmingly military in nature? Since this is an industry that for national security reasons cannot migrate overseas, we are left with a huge domestic war industry. To someday cut into this Pentagon budget will therefore require hurting American industry to an extent that may well prove unpalatable.

This is another example of the way Americans are currently locking themselves in to a way of life that is not sustainable. One of the most obvious needs for our country is to cut back on military spending. Our greatest threat comes from non-state terrorists that should be fought through international treaties and policing. But instead of working to slowly cut back on military spending we are building up an economic dependency on military spending. And where there is a large military there will be some politician who wants to "lean forward" and get some use out of the equipment.