海角大神

America鈥檚 biggest jobs program: The US military

If we didn鈥檛 have the military to employ millions of Americans, the US unemployment rate would be over 11.5 percent today instead of 9.5 percent. Is having a massive military jobs program the best way to employ Americans?

America鈥檚 biggest 鈥� and only major 鈥� jobs program is the U.S. military.

Over 1,400,000 Americans are now on active duty; another 833,000 are in the reserves, many full time. Another 1,600,000 Americans work in companies that supply the military with everything from weapons to utensils. (I鈥檓 not even including all the foreign contractors employing non-US citizens.)

If we didn鈥檛 have this giant military jobs program, the U.S. unemployment rate would be over 11.5 percent today instead of 9.5 percent.

And without our military jobs program personal incomes would be dropping faster. The Commerce Department reported Monday the only major metro areas where both net earnings and personal incomes rose last year were San Antonio, Texas, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. 鈥� because all three have high concentrations of military and federal jobs.

This isn鈥檛 an argument for more military spending. Just the opposite. Having a giant undercover military jobs program is an insane way to keep Americans employed. It creates jobs we don鈥檛 need but we keep anyway because there鈥檚 no honest alternative. We don鈥檛 have an overt jobs program based on what鈥檚 really needed.

For example, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday his plan to cut spending on military contractors by more than a quarter over three years, congressional leaders balked. Military contractors are major sources of jobs back in members鈥� states and districts. California鈥檚 Howard P. 鈥�Buck鈥� McKeon, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, demanded that the move 鈥渘ot weaken the nation鈥檚 defense.鈥� That鈥檚 congress-speak for 鈥渙ver my dead body.鈥�

Gates simultaneously announced closing the Joint Force Command in Norfolk, Virginia, that employs 6,324 people and relies on 3,300 private contractors. This prompted Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to warn that the closure 鈥渨ould be a step backward.鈥� Translated: 鈥淣o chance in hell.鈥�

Gates can鈥檛 even end useless weapons programs. That鈥檚 because they鈥檙e covert jobs programs that employ thousands.

He wants to stop production of the C-17 cargo jet he says is no longer needed. But it keeps 4,000 people working at Boeing鈥檚 Long Beach assembly plant and 30,000 others at Boeing suppliers strategically located in 40 states. So despite Gates鈥檚 protests the Senate has approved ten new orders.

That鈥檚 still not enough to keep all those C-17 workers employed, so the Pentagon and Boeing have been hunting for foreign purchasers. The Indian Air Force is now negotiating to buy ten, and talks are underway with several other nations, including Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Ever wonder why military equipment is one of America鈥檚 biggest exports? It鈥檚 our giant military jobs program in action.

Gates has also been trying to stop production of a duplicate engine for the F-25 joint Strike Fighter jet. He says it isn鈥檛 needed and doesn鈥檛 justify the $2.9 billion slated merely to develop it.

But the unnecessary duplicate engine would bring thousands of jobs to Indiana and Ohio. Cunningly, its potential manufacturers Rolls-Royce and General Electric created a media blitz (mostly aimed at Washington, D.C. where lawmakers wold see it) featuring an engine worker wearing a 鈥淪upport Our Troops鈥� T-shirt and arguing the duplicate engine will create 4,000 American jobs. Presto. Despite a veto threat from the White House, a House panel has just approved funding the duplicate.

By the way, Gates isn鈥檛 trying to cut the overall Pentagon budget. He just wants to trim certain programs to make room for more military spending with a higher priority.

The Pentagon鈥檚 budget 鈥� and its giant undercover jobs program 鈥� keeps expanding. The President has asked Congress to hike total defense spending next year 2.2 percent, to $708 billion. That鈥檚 6.1 percent higher than peak defense spending during the Bush administration.

This sum doesn鈥檛 even include Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, nuclear weapons management, and intelligence. Add these, and next year鈥檚 national security budget totals about $950 billion.

That鈥檚 a major chunk of the entire federal budget. But most deficit hawks don鈥檛 dare cut it. National security is sacrosanct.

Yet what鈥檚 really sacrosanct is the giant jobs program that鈥檚 justified by national security. National security is a cover for job security.

This is nuts.

Wouldn鈥檛 it be better to have a jobs program that created things we really need 鈥� like light-rail trains, better school facilities, public parks, water and sewer systems, and non-carbon energy sources 鈥� than things we don鈥檛, like obsolete weapons systems?

Historically some of America鈥檚 biggest jobs programs that were critical to the nation鈥檚 future have been justified by national defense, although they鈥檝e borne almost no relation to it. The National Defense Education Act of the late 1950s trained a generation of math and science teachers. The National Defense Highway Act created millions of construction jobs turning the nation鈥檚 two-lane highways into four- and six-lane Interstates.

Maybe this is the way to convince Republicans and blue-dog Democrats to spend more federal dollars putting Americans back, and working on things we genuinely need: Call it the National Defense Full Employment Act.

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