In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D discusses the hollowing out the the United States Military Industrial Complex, as well as how the U.S. Military and its defense contractors are riddled by corruption.
Opening the video, Double D touches on rising tensions between the United States, Russia, and China. He views these tensions through the lens of the new Cold War, and suggests that despite the U.S. potential for power projection around the world, industrial and systemic trends in the U.S. may show that U.S. military might is not as all-encompassing as may be believed.
Double D reads excerpts from an article from "Foreign Affairs" which examines the decades long trend of the hollowing out of the U.S. War Industry. He analyzes how in the past, war production was handled by Government Owned-Government Operated or GOGO plants, and that the U.S. used a vast bureaucracy to handle production and to pursue oversight for private contractors. He shows how gradually this system was dismantled, and the doors were thrown open for private investment, leading to today, where 88% of all military procurements are commercial.
Moving on, Double D examines the rise of the Big Five Defense Contractors, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrup-Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, and General Dynamics. He shows how over a series of wars, these corporations were able to conglomerate in to massive entities that are responsible for the vast majority of domestic defense procurements. He shows how, through this process, these war corporations were also able to buy up what little oversight remained in defense contracting, establishing ties between the corporations and the highest points of power within the U.S. military apparatus. He also shows how defense contractors have forsaken practical production contractors for implements such as rifles, artillery shells, and ammunition, favoring instead experimental weapons systems which are tied to an endless reserve of government R and D dollars.
Double D also examines the process of deindustrialization and offshoring of defense production. Highlighting the fact that only three plants manufacture military planes, only five plants produce missile systems, and only one plant had produced the black powder necessary for ammunition production until it exploded several years back. He shows how the contemporary U.S. Military is completely dependent on off shore production and foreign contractors. He also analyzes how the United States no longer has the skilled labor pool necessary to produce weapons of mass death, citing the reality that higher education as well as skill certification is locked behind a paywall that most Americans are unable to bypass; he contrasts this present day situation to the 1950's, where the U.S. government heavily subsidized education in the fields of science and technology.
Moving on, Double D examines the culture of corruption that exists within the U.S. military itself. He cites several examples of theft and fraud that persisted through the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. He quotes a veteran who covers military corruption who said: "The amount of theft going on is worse than when I was a young soldier in Vietnam." Double D suggests that a culture of gangsterism, as well as the inefficiency and bottomless well of dollars which exists in the military, have created an organization where corruption has become the norm.
Double D also examines the long history of Defense Contractors being involved in fraud and negligence. He cites examples from the Securities and Exchanges Commission, including cases against Halliburton, 3M, Boeing, and many more. He shows how the modern day military industrial complex has become another example of a gamified economic system, where efficiency and cost to value production no longer matter, having seemingly been replaced by a culture of graft and profit by any means necessary.
Double D rounds off the video by suggesting that these trends sig
In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D discusses the hollowing out the the United States Military Industrial Complex, as well as how the U.S. Military and its defense contractors are riddled by corruption.
Opening the video, Double D touches on rising tensions between the United States, Russia, and China. He views these tensions through the lens of the new Cold War, and suggests that despite the U.S. potential for power projection around the world, industrial and systemic trends in the U.S. may show that U.S. military might is not as all-encompassing as may be believed.
Double D reads excerpts from an article from "Foreign Affairs" which examines the decades long trend of the hollowing out of the U.S. War Industry. He analyzes how in the past, war production was handled by Government Owned-Government Operated or GOGO plants, and that the U.S. used a vast bureaucracy to handle production and to pursue oversight for private contractors. He shows how gradually this system was dismantled, and the doors were thrown open for private investment, leading to today, where 88% of all military procurements are commercial.
Moving on, Double D examines the rise of the Big Five Defense Contractors, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrup-Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, and General Dynamics. He shows how over a series of wars, these corporations were able to conglomerate in to massive entities that are responsible for the vast majority of domestic defense procurements. He shows how, through this process, these war corporations were also able to buy up what little oversight remained in defense contracting, establishing ties between the corporations and the highest points of power within the U.S. military apparatus. He also shows how defense contractors have forsaken practical production contractors for implements such as rifles, artillery shells, and ammunition, favoring instead experimental weapons systems which are tied to an endless reserve of government R and D dollars.
Double D also examines the process of deindustrialization and offshoring of defense production. Highlighting the fact that only three plants manufacture military planes, only five plants produce missile systems, and only one plant had produced the black powder necessary for ammunition production until it exploded several years back. He shows how the contemporary U.S. Military is completely dependent on off shore production and foreign contractors. He also analyzes how the United States no longer has the skilled labor pool necessary to produce weapons of mass death, citing the reality that higher education as well as skill certification is locked behind a paywall that most Americans are unable to bypass; he contrasts this present day situation to the 1950's, where the U.S. government heavily subsidized education in the fields of science and technology.
Moving on, Double D examines the culture of corruption that exists within the U.S. military itself. He cites several examples of theft and fraud that persisted through the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. He quotes a veteran who covers military corruption who said: "The amount of theft going on is worse than when I was a young soldier in Vietnam." Double D suggests that a culture of gangsterism, as well as the inefficiency and bottomless well of dollars which exists in the military, have created an organization where corruption has become the norm.
Double D also examines the long history of Defense Contractors being involved in fraud and negligence. He cites examples from the Securities and Exchanges Commission, including cases against Halliburton, 3M, Boeing, and many more. He shows how the modern day military industrial complex has become another example of a gamified economic system, where efficiency and cost to value production no longer matter, having seemingly been replaced by a culture of graft and profit by any means necessary.
Double D rounds off the video by suggesting that these trends sig