Report: Defense spending likely to drop

[unhappycamper]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/sep/26/military-economic-report-sdmac/?st



Downsizing, budget cuts to hit San Diego region

Report: Defense spending likely to drop
By Gretel C. Kovach
6 a.m.Sept. 26, 2013

The wartime era of growing defense spending in San Diego County plateaued in fiscal 2013 and will likely retract slightly next year, according to a report released today by the San Diego Military Advisory Council.



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Next year, most categories of defense spending except veterans benefits are expected to decline slightly, resulting in a 1 percent dip in the gross regional product, as well as a decline in jobs tied directly or indirectly to the sector to 295,000.

San Diego has an edge against shrinking defense spending in the coming decade because of the pivot, or rebalance, of U.S. forces to the Pacific in the post-Iraq and Afghanistan war era; a greater reliance on rapid response forces the Marines and special operations units like the Navy SEALs provide, the emphasis on drone warfare, investments in cybersecurity and a concentration of vital air-training ranges in the Southwest.

The findings of the fifth annual report were somewhat surprising in terms of the muted impact of national budget woes, but the overall trend is unfolding as expected, those involved in the study as well as independent local economists agreed.






unhappycamper comment: The problem: