April 13, 2017
Military keeps American people and business safe
It appears that President Trump's proposed budget will not survive first contact on the Hill. The large cuts to some agencies, such as the State Department, and cultural investment, such as the National Endowment for the Arts, have been decried by Republicans and Democrats alike. The conversation has, however, spurred a discussion about what the defense budget should be and do.
It's easy to focus on what the U.S. military does overseas, not to mention how expensive it appears to be. Yet we need to remember that defense spending enables the benefits of peace at home. U.S. Air Force and Navy assets defend the satellites and undersea cables that facilitate today's advanced telecommunications — enabling everything from GPS to the financial transactions that underpin modern commerce. Everyday Americans feel these benefits when they order a Lyft on their mobile phone, pull up a list of florists near their office from their desktop, or file their taxes from the comfort of their home computer. As Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet (Google's parent company), reminded a defense audience last week, defense spending built the internet — and spawned an entire industry.
Read the full article at the Times-Call.
More from CNAS
-
Tariffs & and the Defense Industrial Base with Becca Wasser, plus what’s new in the U.S.-China trade war
Geoff and Emily debrief on the latest news in the U.S.-China trade talks. Becca Wasser, senior fellow and deputy director of the CNAS defense program, joins to talk about what...
By Emily Kilcrease, Geoffrey Gertz & Becca Wasser
-
Production Power: The Revitalisation of the U.S. Defence Industrial Base and the Consequences for Europe
In episode 15 of Strategy Speaks, Becca Wasser from CNAS speaks with Daniel Fiott about the US defence industrial base and how its revitalisation could affect Europe. The conv...
By Becca Wasser
-
MWI Podcast: The U.S. Defense Industrial Base, from Steel to Software
Mobilizing the U.S. defense industrial base. for a future large-scale conflict, however, will look very different than it has in the past. In the information age, data and sof...
By Becca Wasser
-
‘Spider’s Web’ Warning: The U.S. Must Prioritize Drone Defense to Avoid Russia’s Fate
This attack is wake-up call for US military: its counter-drone efforts are inadequate and are not keeping pace with the threat....
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Molly Campbell