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  •  A good point (none / 0)

    However, we have reconverted our economy in the past, and can do so again. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of major infrastructure projects that need to get done that aren't due to lack of funds. Those are good paying jobs, as are health care jobs, as are educational jobs (or at least they could be made better paying as a result of pumping money into them saved from the multibillion defense budget).

    I'm not part of a redneck agenda - Green Day
    Neither is California High Speed Rail

    by eugene on Mon Jun 14, 2004 at 08:21:53 PM PDT

    [ Parent ]

    •  It's not conversion, really. (none / 1)

      WWII saw whole civilian industries switched to weapons production. Those industries could then switch back to civilian functions when the war was over. Even then, there were large economic disruptions that resulted.

      What I'm talking about is the military (AND intelligence community) lying at the heart of a large amount of basic research, especially in technology. Our economy still depends on a lot of spin-offs from that military research into lighter, faster, stronger capabilities. You've got to find a way to keep that research going, but with new end uses in mind.

      The real benefit of your post is to challenge the assumptions behind the statement "of course we need a military." By not asking that question, we have allowed the military-industrial complex to grow to the state it has reached today.
      Visualize Whirled Peas

      by Hoya90 on Mon Jun 14, 2004 at 08:56:24 PM PDT

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      •  I should think that's not so difficult (none / 0)

        Much of the money we spend on military related r&d goes to universities or private companies. People will happily innovate, especially when money is thrown at them to do so.

        You're quite right about my post and questioning assumptions. It seems to me that the military is no longer useful, and that there's nothing stopping us from returning to the model of the early republic except a mental attachment to a big military, an attachment not grounded in reason or reality.

        I'm not part of a redneck agenda - Green Day
        Neither is California High Speed Rail

        by eugene on Mon Jun 14, 2004 at 09:01:57 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

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