“The manufacturing of tanks — powerful but cumbersome — is no longer essential, the military says.”
That’s from a Washington Post article on the debate over whether we need to build more tanks.
If the U.S. Army doesn’t want to buy tanks, why is there a debate over this? Here are two reasons: (1) all politics is local, and (2) K Street. That is, (1) congressmen see tank-making as a good jobs program for their districts, and (2) tank makers see tank-making as good profit.
Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, puts it this way:
Here’s some relevant background:
BAE, the tank maker discussed in the Post story, has spent about $25 million lobbying in the Obama era. The company’s lobbyists include:
* Steven Hyjek (“From 1981 to 1986, Mr. Hyjek served as a Congressional Liaison Representative for the Secretary of the Army.”)
* Former top Homeland Security and Defense Intelligence Agency aide Sharon Hardie.
* Tony Podesta, brother and co-founder of a lobbying firm with Obama confidant John Podesta. Podesta recently paid about $50,000 in realtor fees to the husband of Mary Landrieu, chairwoman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.
And plenty of other former Defense Department and Hill aides.
