This article seems confused about money, resources, and the differences between them. On the money side there's no reason (other than Senate opposition) not to spend more money. Deficit spending...
This article seems confused about money, resources, and the differences between them. On the money side there's no reason (other than Senate opposition) not to spend more money. Deficit spending is fine when there is a recession. Cuts to other government spending aren't needed and would just make the recession worse.
As for resources, in the short term, cutting military spending wouldn't help the military assist in the effort to fight the virus, nor would it help for supplying hospitals.
A better argument could be made about preparedness and why the US didn't spend more money preparing for pandemics versus war. That's about long-term spending, though.
If your objection is that the U.S. can spend more on both the military and a federal response to COVID-19, and that the two are not mutually exclusive because the military has been used to respond...
If your objection is that the U.S. can spend more on both the military and a federal response to COVID-19, and that the two are not mutually exclusive because the military has been used to respond to COVID-19, I concur that those things are true. It is not the case that every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on the response to COVID-19.
However, apart from the headline, this article doesn't quite state that every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on the response to COVID-19. It's more of a comparison between the eye-popping amounts (or amounts that would be eye-popping in any other context) between what the U.S. spends on empire and the amounts that are being spent on the response to COVID-19--it's about priorities. It is a response to the perennial objection that public provision of health services in the U.S. would be too expensive, when establishment politicians rarely ask about military spending in relation to cost. Also, even though it is true that not every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on COVID-19 response, the difference in attitude toward spending on public health vs. spending on the military is a revealed preference that military spending is to be prioritized--which bears both on preparedness and the response to a pandemic crisis.
With reference to the article:
A system that produces new fighter jets, submarines, and missiles, but not enough medical masks and gowns, is totally irrational.
At the risk of repeating myself, I think this is more about where our revealed preferences/priorities have gotten us, rather than contending that literally every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on public health.
Okay, I agree with you that we should be spending much more on pandemic response. I also think a lot of defense spending is wasted. But I don't think they have all that much connection other than...
Okay, I agree with you that we should be spending much more on pandemic response. I also think a lot of defense spending is wasted. But I don't think they have all that much connection other than they are both things the federal government spends money on, and it would be a mistake for Congress to try to work on both at the same time.
More generally, I thought the article talks briefly about a lot of different leftist issues without much connection, and I prefer more focused arguments.
This article seems confused about money, resources, and the differences between them. On the money side there's no reason (other than Senate opposition) not to spend more money. Deficit spending is fine when there is a recession. Cuts to other government spending aren't needed and would just make the recession worse.
As for resources, in the short term, cutting military spending wouldn't help the military assist in the effort to fight the virus, nor would it help for supplying hospitals.
A better argument could be made about preparedness and why the US didn't spend more money preparing for pandemics versus war. That's about long-term spending, though.
If your objection is that the U.S. can spend more on both the military and a federal response to COVID-19, and that the two are not mutually exclusive because the military has been used to respond to COVID-19, I concur that those things are true. It is not the case that every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on the response to COVID-19.
However, apart from the headline, this article doesn't quite state that every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on the response to COVID-19. It's more of a comparison between the eye-popping amounts (or amounts that would be eye-popping in any other context) between what the U.S. spends on empire and the amounts that are being spent on the response to COVID-19--it's about priorities. It is a response to the perennial objection that public provision of health services in the U.S. would be too expensive, when establishment politicians rarely ask about military spending in relation to cost. Also, even though it is true that not every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on COVID-19 response, the difference in attitude toward spending on public health vs. spending on the military is a revealed preference that military spending is to be prioritized--which bears both on preparedness and the response to a pandemic crisis.
With reference to the article:
At the risk of repeating myself, I think this is more about where our revealed preferences/priorities have gotten us, rather than contending that literally every dollar spent on the military is a dollar less spent on public health.
Okay, I agree with you that we should be spending much more on pandemic response. I also think a lot of defense spending is wasted. But I don't think they have all that much connection other than they are both things the federal government spends money on, and it would be a mistake for Congress to try to work on both at the same time.
More generally, I thought the article talks briefly about a lot of different leftist issues without much connection, and I prefer more focused arguments.