How The Defense Industry Became A Defining Feature Of The U.S. Economy (From Forbes)

A hundred years ago, the United States did not have a defense industry. Today it does, thanks to a series of Russian military developments in the early postwar era that made the threat to U.S. survival permanent. In response, Washington for the first time in its history began funding large peacetime defense budgets–which made the existence of a permanent, private-sector defense industry possible. This year, roughly $400 billion in military contracts will be awarded to over 200,000 companies. The footprint of the industry is so big that it has become a defining feature of the U.S. economy. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.