Reader Ad Slot
Reader Ad Slot placeholder
If you would like to support SpookStack without paying out of pocket, please consider allowing advertising cookies. It helps cover hosting costs and keeps the archive free to browse. You can change this choice at any time.
American Friends Service Committee — Part 32
Page 107
107 / 169
2. - . 5
be consiertd as portot a-tetel urtional seturity policy. Should an arm control,
errtenut take effect, there would be important reperoussions in our domestic uso +
nony - of o mamitude that requires we meke carrful estimatos of the amount of eoce
nomic dislocation that might occur end do some plenning to take up eny slack in the
economy.”
« Certainly somothing would happen to the economy, But does it necessarily mean
that as a result the U.S. eoonomy ig permanently geared to defense production, that
it cormot withstand the shock of the w ithdrawal of military contracts, that there
is nothing in the economy to take the place of industry's number one customer, the
Defense Department?
Most economists agree thet it would indeed be a sorry state of affairs if the
United States had to rely permanently on armaments production to prop up its eco-
nonye They point out that defense expenditures in the U.S. absorb some 10 peroent
of the Gross National Product (GIP) of about #475 billion a yeare (The proportion
of defense expenditures in Western Europe to G'P is 5 peroant., docording to some
sources, 30 peroent of the GIP of the Soviet Union is being used for ermaments.)
They point out that the real costs of armaments and dofense are better expressed in
terms of the additional advanoes which might be made in the civilim sector of the
®conomy wore it not necessary to allocate resources to defense productions The real
cost, they say, is in terms of money, manpower, and materials for the production of
armauonts + airplanes ccrriers, atomic end hydrogen bombs, rifles, machine guns, tanks,
borbors, combat piener, guiced missiles - all of which add nothing to the stendord
of living of the American people. If instead of spending $45 billicn for defmse,
and es Honry Hazlitt, a contributing editor of Newswook has said: “.se.instead build
addition:] new homes, new eleotric refrigerators, dishwaching and olctheswashing
machines, now and better heating systems, better highways, more bool:s end schools
and churches and reserrch laboratories and hospitals, we would reduce the amowit of
needless toll md increase the comforts and snenities end opportunities of life for
all our people."
This problem has been recognized by President Eisonhoror, too, who said: "Every
gun thet is made, every warchip launched, every Teckot fired, signiflez - in the
finol sense ~ a theft from those who hunger end are not fed; thoso who are cold ed
are not clothed."
To what extent is monoy and manpower experdsd. on these items of defense?
Monoye World-wice, the mmucl military expo:diteres of all states have been
estimated ot $100 billion. (Of this amt, the Ve i cpeads about £45 billion yeorm
ly; tho Soviet Unien spurnds chout $25 billion = fcr . tutal of about €70 billion,
or more thar two-thirds of tho total world arzs 1 } Whis mocus thet avery
hour - dey ond night - the world sponds some $°,{i rs ynich will
eventually bo used to blow the world to bits = o> to while now
aid better and mors costly weapons are built = or dirocrCud entiroly if disarmnsnt
should ve a U.S, itself spends son 00,000 each hour e dey and
t: of the monoy is liter ly worted seve Senator
Baad that the cost ef waste ord duplioation itselr
Community corrections
No user corrections yet.
Comments
No comments on this document yet.
Bottom Reader Ad Slot
Bottom Reader Ad Slot placeholder
If you would like to support SpookStack without paying out of pocket, please consider allowing advertising cookies. It helps cover hosting costs and keeps the archive free to browse. You can change this choice at any time.
Continue Exploring
Agency Collection
Explore This Archive Cluster
Broad Topic Hub
Topic Hub
federal bureau
fbi
investigation
two fbi agents
letter
Related subtopics
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic