Job Opportunity Cost of War

President Donald Trump’s recent request to increase military spending by $54 billion represents a 10 percent increase to the military budget and comes at the expense of cuts to domestic programs and foreign aid. In order to increase funding for the so-called “War on Terror,” either other domestic spending must fall – in areas like education or healthcare – or the national debt must increase, obligating the American public to increased interest payments in the future. Increased military spending is often seen as a politically favorable strategy – war spending is generally thought of as a way to increase employment. But is military spending the best way to create jobs? What do we sacrifice by increasing defense spending? Join us as we talk about it with Heidi Garrett-Peltier of The Political Economy Research Institute at UMASS-Amherst and the Costs of War project at The Watson Institute. Her research focuses on the employment impacts of public and private investments, particularly those that support the transition to a low carbon economy. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EE3ldgrj_lTCPgVKaigSfY9-XLvM_MEo/view?usp=sharing]