Why military spending boosts the economy

  Military spending like any spending mobilizes idle resources, labor, industrial and service sectors. Men and Women, industrial facilities, idle warehouses ect. are put to use whenever military spending takes place. This activity increases productivity, and employment rates across the country assuming these resources were not previously mobilized. Getting bombed is not good for the economy. But building bombs in preparation of dropping them on others. That is good for the economy.

 If employment rates were already at 100 percent then military spending is not going to do anything but crowd out scarce labor. But if we had 20 percent unemployment and 20 percent of the nation's factories standing idle. Then military spending becomes a godsend.

 Its important to note that it is not the act of war that saves the economy, its the spending that takes place in order to mobilize the country towards war. The fact that factories and labor are being mobilized towards some set goal. That is what brings the economy out of the doldrums.

 It is also important to note, that it does not have to be military spending. Any spending whatsoever would create the same economic uplifting effect. But usually, it is very difficult to persuade a population that we should increase the money supply for any purpose other than military spending. Trying to increase the money supply to help a segment of the population to be able to afford education and health care is irrelevant to a sector of the population who already can afford education and health care. In their minds, all you are doing is to devalue the nation's legal tender to benefit a class of people that they do not belong to.

"Sweden's quick recovery was astonishing. By 1934, real output had recovered to 1929 levels. By 1935, it was 7 percent above it. Growth would continue well into World War II.

Sweden's success owed everything to its liberal government. In 1932, Labor returned to power. The Swedish Finance Minister was heavily influenced by a group of economists led by Gunnar Myrdal, who had been advocating Keynesian-like solutions for years. The Labor government promptly ran large deficits, and within two years had spent itself out of the Depression".

  But military spending, is something almost all people can agree to. Especially during war time.

"Germany becomes the second nation to recover fully from the Great Depression, through heavy deficit spending in preparation for war". 

  It is also important to note that all spending devalues the nation's legal tender. Because when you choose to spend, that money helps drive up the price of goods and services. And when prices for goods and services increase, you have inflation. Does not matter if you are buying a car, a haircut, software services. Any time you hire somebody to do something, that drives up the price of goods and services thus leading to inflation, leading to devaluing the nation's currency.

  The best way to not devalue a nation's currency is to never buy anything at all. But that is also why we have great depressions.