The Eroding Foundation of National Security

It is relatively common to cite numbers of aircraft, tanks, and ships as a surrogate for military strength. But over the longer term, a better measure is the relative size of a nation's economy, with particular emphasis on those components relating to technology and manufacturing. Examining this point of view and assessing the US outlook, assuming the nation's current trajectory is sustained, the implications are not encouraging. The bottom line, even as the US today faces a major debt crisis, is that its leaders need to understand the difference between spending for investment and spending for consumption. While the nation will need to do a lot less of the latter, it will need to do a lot more of the former. US national defense depends on maintaining a strong economy, and a strong economy in this age demands prowess in science and engineering. Prowess in science and engineering depends on an educated citizenry and investment in research -- and in both of these foundational areas, the US is failing.