Anikdote
Rookie
- Dec 1, 2009
- 11
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Being that federal spending is a significant component of most GDP equations, and being that we spend a significant portion of our budget on defense, I think it'd be hard to justify an argument based on the military not being a significant factor in the US economy.Of course there was, for pre-digital era examples I could refer to the jeep and aeronautic developments, or radar/sonar technologies. It's difficult to deny the military's impact on our economy.
Nobody is denying that. What is being denied is that it is the primary or even a major driver of the economy.
When we look at the impact of military spending we shouldn't limit our scope to just the material items developed directly from the DoD budget, but also it's active role in securing foreign interests and it's contracts with numerous private firms, the contracts in addition to the productivity of those firms must also be considered.
From ~1980 forward, I absolutely agree. But as I've said, the military's contribution to our economy is simply not measurable in terms of patents or widgets.With the exception of war, the military has always been a minor player in the American economy. Silicon Valley has had many, many times more impact on the US than the American armed forces.