Life During Wartime
A few days ago, I overheard a conversation among a few coworkers who were wondering why the economy wasn’t in better shape, given that we’re at war. To quote Phil, I’m not terribly knowledgeable of this issue, but that won’t stop me from commenting. When people think of war “improving” the economy, they generally point to World War II helping to end the Great Depression. They’d be right about the WWII part, but not so much about any of the more recent wars.
See, the United States’ economy went on a wartime footing a short time before we entered the Second World War, and it’s never really left it since. There have been differences in the degree of intensity, certainly, but the military-industrial complex against which Eisenhower warned has been with us, in one form or another, and to one degree or another, for nearly three-quarters of a century now.
Economic fixes are a bit like drugs; that initial hit may give you a pretty intense high, but over time, if you keep using, you build up a tolerance. The initial “high,” if you will, from putting the American economy on a wartime footing lost its effect over time with repeated use. The economy has become so dependent on this that it would take a much higher dose, at a much higher intensity, to acheive the same effect, and it’s at best questionable (to put it kindly) whether the end result would be even remotely worth the cost.