Increasing budget deficits and the ballooning national debt--the limit was recently
temporarily increased by $290 billion--are the topics
du jour for the chattering classes
[1]. But when it comes to the Pentagon budget, the natterers fall silent. Forty-four
requested a record $708 billion for defense purposes, a staggering sum that dwarfs comparable spending by other industrialized countries. The figure does not include $33 billion for the small wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reality 'out of bounds' for the ruling elites over cocktails at the White House is that America is a military empire whose economy is dominated by a policy of military Keynesianism.
{The Road to Weimar 12.31.06}The term was coined by economist Micha Kalecki to explain the rise of Germany from the depths of the Great Depression. Our country has been in a permanent state of military mobilization since the end of World War II. To take just one example of how military spending drives the US economy consider this fact. Depending on who is doing the estimating the United States since 1983 has spent between $92.5 billion and $130 billion trying to figure out a way to shoot down ICBMs in flight, without success
[2]. No one knows for sure how much has been spent--not even members of Congress--because most of the spending is classified. The success of a military program is really beside the point now. Spending by the military-industrial complex is routinely pitched to Congress by Pentagon lobbyists as a jobs program. When the current administration decided to
end the procurement of unnecessary F-22 Raptors
[3], protests were raised about the relatively few numbers of jobs that would be lost at Lockheed-Martin. Without a doubt the Pentagon budget is a cash cow for corporations, lobbyists, Congressmen and military officers. As President Eisenhower warned when he retired from political office, the military has become a dominant part of the nation's economic life. We are still paying off interest on debt incurred to fight World War I! And they wonder how to pay for a national health insurance program.
[1]The bond raters, Fitch, have issued a caution: "Difficult decisions will have to be made regarding spending and tax to underpin market confidence in the long-run sustainability of public finances. In the absence of measures to reduce the budget deficit over the next three to five years, government indebtedness will approach levels by the latter half of the decade that will bring pressure to bear on the US's 'AAA' status"
[2] Besides the inherent physical difficulty of destroying a warhead moving faster than a speeding bullet, modern ICBMs employ a range of defensive devices intended to defeat anti-missile defense systems. A prime example is the mobile TOPOL-M. This Russian missle features high speed solid rocket boosters, hardening against laser and radiation attack, mid-course maneuverability, three MIRV warheads and four sophisticated decoys. Hit that, Uncle! Even a rogue state could launch a missile swarm that could allow one ICBM with a warhead to evade an anti-missle battery.
[3] In response to the United States continued development of high tech war birds like the F-35 Lightning II, Russia is developing a fifth-generation stealthy fighter in full partnership with India, designated the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA.First flight is scheduled for 2010 with mass production in 2013-15 [image].
