Tuesday, September 11, 2007
War Time Economy vs. Peace Time Economy
WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold war, Persian Gulf War I and II, these are just the big wars that got national spot light for extended periods of time. This doesn't even include the U.S. involvement in civil wars, such as the ones in Afghanistan and Iran. More than the last half century, the U.S. economy has expanded greatly because of its ability to create weapons on a massive scale. Gunships, jets, bullets, rockets, tanks, these have formed the bread, butter and backbone of U.S. economy.
As President Dwight D. Eisenhower noted in his January 17, 1961, farewell address to the nation, a balance must be struck between enough arms to prevent an enemy from attacking us and so much spending on a permanent arms industry that fighting perpetual wars leads to a curtailment of our freedoms here at home. The former President referred to the U.S. economy's dependence on the a war-time economy as the "Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex." Essentially, the military manufacturing industry (created out of necessity of WWII) is alive and has been trying to sustain itself in the absence of war. It does this by firstly spreading its industries to virtually every state in the nation. This way, many communities around the nation become dependent on the military for its economic survival. This in turn, buys the military industry votes in Congress to wage nonessential wars throughout the war. The pseudo-need for war then produces a need for armarments, for which the military industry needs to survive. Simply put, there are millions of Americans that need war in order to make a living.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military-industrial_complex
Fortunately, its getting harder for the military to keep up this guise of fighting foreign wars. The American public is getting tired of fighting wars that seem to only cause more problems then they actually solve, not to mention the disgusting amount of money it takes to wage them. Americans fight with the idea that they are heroes, but its not always easy to be a hero is war I guess. I wonder, does this mean that the "prison-industrial complex" is the peace-time economy? The first time I heard this term was in a Race and Ethnicity class at UCRiverside. The concept is practically the same. Manufacturers of goods and services to the prison industry influence policies that increases federal income for them, which in turn is used to facilitate the need for more prisons and the expansion of the industry as a whole. The manufacturers become more concerned with inflating crime rates and causing fear in the American public to allow their representatives in Congress to appropriate funds necessary to expand the prison industry- much like the military industry influences fears abroad, causes the "necessity" to expand military budgets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison-industrial_complex
I think what is most scary, is that millions of Americans need war and prisons in order to make a living. What would you do if you knew that your livelihood perptuated hate and war?
As President Dwight D. Eisenhower noted in his January 17, 1961, farewell address to the nation, a balance must be struck between enough arms to prevent an enemy from attacking us and so much spending on a permanent arms industry that fighting perpetual wars leads to a curtailment of our freedoms here at home. The former President referred to the U.S. economy's dependence on the a war-time economy as the "Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex." Essentially, the military manufacturing industry (created out of necessity of WWII) is alive and has been trying to sustain itself in the absence of war. It does this by firstly spreading its industries to virtually every state in the nation. This way, many communities around the nation become dependent on the military for its economic survival. This in turn, buys the military industry votes in Congress to wage nonessential wars throughout the war. The pseudo-need for war then produces a need for armarments, for which the military industry needs to survive. Simply put, there are millions of Americans that need war in order to make a living.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military-industrial_complex
Fortunately, its getting harder for the military to keep up this guise of fighting foreign wars. The American public is getting tired of fighting wars that seem to only cause more problems then they actually solve, not to mention the disgusting amount of money it takes to wage them. Americans fight with the idea that they are heroes, but its not always easy to be a hero is war I guess. I wonder, does this mean that the "prison-industrial complex" is the peace-time economy? The first time I heard this term was in a Race and Ethnicity class at UCRiverside. The concept is practically the same. Manufacturers of goods and services to the prison industry influence policies that increases federal income for them, which in turn is used to facilitate the need for more prisons and the expansion of the industry as a whole. The manufacturers become more concerned with inflating crime rates and causing fear in the American public to allow their representatives in Congress to appropriate funds necessary to expand the prison industry- much like the military industry influences fears abroad, causes the "necessity" to expand military budgets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison-industrial_complex
I think what is most scary, is that millions of Americans need war and prisons in order to make a living. What would you do if you knew that your livelihood perptuated hate and war?
