We’ve all heard about that $3 billion in annual economic impact that MacDill AFB has on the Tampa Bay region, most notably Tampa.
We’ve all heard how the U.S. economy unexpectedly shrunk (0.1 percent) in the last quarter of 2012 and a big factor was the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years.
We’ve all heard about the perils of sequestration, especially cuts affecting the Pentagon, and the implications for the economy.
We’ve all heard Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warn that budget brinksmanship seriously threatens the nation’s economy–not just military readiness.
And we’ve all heard key outtakes from former President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell speech and his warnings about the “military-industrial complex” and how “the total influence–economic, political, even spiritual–is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government.” Anyone not think Ike was on to something?