Quote:
Originally posted by MILAMBER:
Now that the US relies heavily on the global economy and imported products, a war would be more likely to hurt rather than help the economic situation. We live in a different world now.
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I don't know about this. I haven't had the time to check up on it, but after Kosovo and the US bombing missions that were run out of Montana (*chuckle*), there was likely a LOT of rebuilding to do. I'm wondering who got the contracts. At the time, I remember hearing about both Brit and US plans to rebuild. I can imagine the "lowest bidder" wars between first-world contractors to get these jobs. Like I said, I haven't had time to check into it.
The Keynesian economic model is based on the production/consumption balance. Right now the model is hurt because consumption is down - check the numbers and you'll find production has not really dropped, except as has been absolutely demanded by economic pressures on businesses to voluntarily decrease their production rates. Production capabilities are near limitless compared to consumption rate potential. Thus, the basic factors that encouraged government spending during the New Deal are the basic factors that made WWII production get the economy booming, and are the same basic factors which would mean a war right now would help the economy.
Please, I've done a lot of musing over how war helps economy on many posts, but do not think I don't realize the human factors in this equation. I do not mean to sound so cold about it.
BTW, while on the topic. Guess who was a BIG factor in the US decision to create and Air Cav for Vietnam - Bell, which had a shinny new cheap workhorse helicopter (the UH-60) to sell. Guess who most strongly advocates (read: pays lots of money in lobbying for) continued drug wars in Columbia - Bell. Guess who gets the contract for helicopter use in Afghanistan and any possible use in Iraq - Bell. Bell also advocated for more use of "combined arms" in Kosovo, of course. I'm not attacking Bell in particular - it makes some damned good helicopters, despite minor expected glitches every now and then.
I'm just trying to back up my assertion that big economic factors are at work.