Sunday, January 4, 2009

Defense Budget Matters

Via Barry Ritholtz, a briefing from within the Pentagon on the realities of the Defense Department budget. The two bits of good news are that the department is looking seriously at the idea of ending the practice of giving the Army, Navy, and Air Force equal slices of the budgetary pie despite actual needs, and that they may also finally start look at altering procurement needs to. It's all very heartening, until you remember that the Pentagon has to get Congress on board as well. Say what you want about the military brass, but they're at least somewhat responsive to the executive branch; members of Congress are likely to be responsive to their constituents, including active military personnel and employees of large defense contractors. Voting to lay them off will not go over well, so the White House and Pentagon need to thing about a subsantial transition package to get these workers and soldiers back into the civilian workforce.

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