A reader responds to my ignorance concerning recent wars and how we really waste money:
This is precisely why people are mistaken about the military being grossly inefficient and wasteful. It’s not the military itself that causes the most egregious expenses, it’s the politicians. Those extra airplanes? That’s so the manufacturer makes more money, so that the elected officials in the districts where they are manufactured make more money, and those officials get re-elected. Same with the submarine. Same with the Pentagon’s repeated attempts to close unneeded bases which are likewise repeatedly rebuffed by Congress. There’s likely waste within the uniformed ranks, as well, but it’s like nickels and dimes compared to these huge, corrupt expenditures.
I agree. And the political problems of closing bases has been approached through bipartisan commissions, which make recommendations that cannot be amended, only voted up or down.
The military has always been a black hole as far as politics go, regardless of the governmental system in use.
