This Is Why We Spend A Trillion Dollars A Year On 'Defense'

[unhappycamper]

Lockheed Martin's Mike Ryan embodies the tie between military contracts and the local economy. When he's working, he says, 'I'm going to hit the mall. Hire the kid down the street to cut my grass. ... There's no end to it.'



North Texas economy relies on military contracts, so cuts would hurt
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, October 24, 2010
By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News
[e-mail]

FORT WORTH – When the Pentagon has money to spend, so does Mike Ryan.

"Working in the defense field – it pays off. I make good money," the Lockheed Martin worker said.

"I'm going to take that money and go out there and spend it. I'm going to hit the mall. Hire the kid down the street to cut my grass – let him make some money. There's no end to it."

In ways often overlooked, North Texas' economy is buoyed by the billions of taxpayer dollars that pour annually into companies that build military aircraft, missiles and computer systems. But with the U.S. government aiming to reduce budget deficits, defense spending could be headed for a contraction.

The connection between Washington and North Texas, which has grown more significant since 2001, helped rejuvenate a Tarrant County economy weakened by big defense budget cuts during the 1990s.



unhappycamper comment: And this is why we keep buying very expensive military systems. And it's also why we spend a trillion (that's with a "T") dollars a year on this stuff.