Spring Break
Speculation says Obama administration will keep projects running
By: Travis Holland
Issue date: 2/17/09 Section: Opinion
Last month, Paul Kaminski, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology, speculated that the Obama administration might keep Department of Defense spending projects because of the jobs they create and maintain. This is an interesting idea.
Keeping defense spending programs seems like a good, productive way to stimulate the economy in a time when elected officials are looking for answers. The key factor that makes this kind of stimulus plan better than others is that the government benefits from the new military technology.
Future combat systems, unmanned aircraft and other Department of Defense spending programs help modernize the U.S. military, and in many cases directly take service members out of the line of fire. Also, many of the programs are designed to defend U.S. troops from improvised explosives and RPG-type weapons, both of which have plagued American soldiers in the Middle East.
Along with these combat systems, the Obama administration will have to decide on the continuance of existing programs, such as the F-22 fighter jet. Kaminski and others have speculated that the president will keep projects like this only because of the thousands of jobs they keep safe. This is a good idea in these tough economic times, as the F-22 program, for example, is responsible for 25,000 jobs at Lockheed Martin. As a bonus, the government gets a sort of rebate on defense spending, as the jobs saved must pay the federal income tax.
Aside from creating jobs, continuing military spending maintains the U.S. as a military leader on the world stage. This is especially important now, with countries like China visibly bulking up their own armed forces.
Beyond military spending, President Obama has a chance to continue, or even increase, spending on counterterrorism programs. The intelligence field can always benefit from new technology and spending abroad, and right now there are few better ways to keep Americans safe. This would also save and create jobs in many technology sectors.
At the same time, the government can save tax dollars by cleaning up some of the existing contracts and placing stricter controls on contractors. This creates an avenue to cut spending while saving the jobs at risk. Defense contractors have a great deal of leniency and time with their contracts, and the government could trim both. Also, they receive large bonuses on many jobs, even when they run late. This is another area which can save the government money.
The biggest upside of keeping these programs is that the federal government will get something in return. Unlike spending billions on unidentified assets of unidentified financial institutions, the United States government will have something to show for this stimulus package.
Keeping defense spending programs seems like a good, productive way to stimulate the economy in a time when elected officials are looking for answers. The key factor that makes this kind of stimulus plan better than others is that the government benefits from the new military technology.
Future combat systems, unmanned aircraft and other Department of Defense spending programs help modernize the U.S. military, and in many cases directly take service members out of the line of fire. Also, many of the programs are designed to defend U.S. troops from improvised explosives and RPG-type weapons, both of which have plagued American soldiers in the Middle East.
Along with these combat systems, the Obama administration will have to decide on the continuance of existing programs, such as the F-22 fighter jet. Kaminski and others have speculated that the president will keep projects like this only because of the thousands of jobs they keep safe. This is a good idea in these tough economic times, as the F-22 program, for example, is responsible for 25,000 jobs at Lockheed Martin. As a bonus, the government gets a sort of rebate on defense spending, as the jobs saved must pay the federal income tax.
Aside from creating jobs, continuing military spending maintains the U.S. as a military leader on the world stage. This is especially important now, with countries like China visibly bulking up their own armed forces.
Beyond military spending, President Obama has a chance to continue, or even increase, spending on counterterrorism programs. The intelligence field can always benefit from new technology and spending abroad, and right now there are few better ways to keep Americans safe. This would also save and create jobs in many technology sectors.
At the same time, the government can save tax dollars by cleaning up some of the existing contracts and placing stricter controls on contractors. This creates an avenue to cut spending while saving the jobs at risk. Defense contractors have a great deal of leniency and time with their contracts, and the government could trim both. Also, they receive large bonuses on many jobs, even when they run late. This is another area which can save the government money.
The biggest upside of keeping these programs is that the federal government will get something in return. Unlike spending billions on unidentified assets of unidentified financial institutions, the United States government will have something to show for this stimulus package.
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