Industry leaders agree: Cuts in government spending kills jobs

[Capt Bringdown]

Defense Industry contractors agree:

Study: Across-the-board defense cuts could cost 1 million jobs

Across-the-board budget cuts set to hit the Pentagon in January would destroy nearly 1 million jobs by 2014, with Virginia, California and Texas absorbing the biggest hits, according to an analysis released Thursday by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Increasingly panicky industry representatives are lobbying Congress to block the cuts

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Defense contractors speak out against budget cuts

Defense contractors warned Wednesday that across-the-board federal spending cuts posed a calamitous threat to their businesses and that thousands of jobs were on the line unless lawmakers find another way to shrink the deficit.

The defense industry has been exerting increasing pressure on Congress to overturn the planned cuts, noting that companies could be forced to send layoff notices just before the November election.

Buoyed by military spending to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the defense industry has grown tremendously over the past decade, but it now faces a significant contraction as the wars come to an end and government spending shrinks.
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Are Military Contractors Buying Articles in the Post Now?

The basic story here is very simple, when you are in a severe downturn any spending creates jobs. If we spend money on schools and hospitals that creates jobs. If we pay people to dig holes and fill them up again, it creates jobs. And, if we pay people to build weapons for the military it creates jobs.

These clowns can't make up their mind. On the one hand any stimulus spending by government is claimed to crowd out private spending via the assertion it's only uncertainty and regulation holding back more jobs from the supply side. (This effectively lumps in stimulus spending as an essential component of uncertainty holding back the economy via a higher deficit and debt.)

Then when their favorite government spending shows up as the issue in question - the military - suddenly crowding out is abandoned like a forgotten orphan and the opportunity cost of said spending conveniently becomes lost jobs rather than some pet private spending somewhere that was crowded out.

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[AFBlue]

Why is it shocking that defense contractors would oppose contraction of military budgets? And to the point about regulation, I'm sure they would support less of it irrespective of the budget decision.

I'm honestly not sure what the point of this article or thread is tbh.

[Clipper Nation]

Translation: Please don't slash our warmaking money!

[mavs>spurs]

this is ing funny

a better headline would be "fox says allowing someone else to guard the henhouse is bad for business"