[quote=briansd1][quote=Allan from Fallbrook]
These are all products of military R&D that has migrated into the commercial sector. Silicon Valley was built on Department of Defense and DARPA money; shit, huge sums still run through there (though not nearly as much as during the Cold War days).[/quote]
Sure, but does innovation have to be the exclusive domain of the military?
We would invest in space exploration, climate and energy research or other tech that would result in similar discoveries.
The reason the military works is because politicians can wave the flag and fan nationalist sentiments to pass huge spending budgets.
No matter how the military could be profitable for one side, the collateral damage is millions of dead people. Add the deaths and destruction to the equation and there is net loss to humanity.
If America is truly exceptional as we claim we are, we can be better than that.[/quote]
Brian: You’re going to have to show me where I said that innovation is the exclusive domain of the military. I never said that, and I don’t feel that way.
I do believe that we need to cut entitlement spending AND defense spending, along with reforming the tax code. Any serious discussion about America’s fiscal health and well-being needs to start by addressing the biggest outlays in the budget. And, yeah, wars are godawful expensive and extract a horrific toll. I am not advocating for war. To the contrary, that’s not an experience I would wish on anybody.
I would also agree that those R&D dollars can be more effectively deployed elsewhere, and that America is better than that. If we wish to be viewed as a beacon for the world, that “shining city on a hill”, we need to return to our core values and principles.
Speaking of principles, Brian, please don’t ever juxtapose the word “principles” with a Chicago politician (Rahm). Dude, that’s just wrong.
