Tom Donnelly and Gary Schmitt had an op-ed in yesterday’s Washington Post laying out the case for a defense stimulus. The authors point out that the Obama administration could, with the relatively small sum of $20 billion, boost several military procurement programs with the effect of “sustaining jobs not only among prime contractors but also among their suppliers.” They also point out that, “increasing the size of the armed forces would have an even more direct and immediate effect on employment.” The F-22, which is entering its last year of production unless the Obama administration intercedes, is responsible for some 25,000 jobs, with another 50,000 to 75,000 jobs in its supplier base. It seems obvious that any stimulus spending should seek to preserve tens of thousands of defense jobs, especially when the spending will have an additional salutary effect on the Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Loren Thomspon writes today:
Thompson offers more specifics at the link, but if these reports are true then Obama is preparing to destroy hundreds of thousands high-paying, union jobs in this country. Thompson concludes: “it doesn’t make sense to buy unneeded weapons just to stimulate the economy, but all of the programs on the reported list meet critical military requirements and are strongly supported by the services that will receive them. So maybe someone at the White House ought to consider the connection between the administration’s defense and economic policies.”
