The US needs a good war now that Ukraine looks to be puttering out. War with China is suicidal and would probably end all human life when either side flushes their entire nuclear stockpile the moment it looks like they might lose. Based on what US Congress has been saying it’s either Iran or Mexico, with Iran being the option most preferable. The White House, State Dept, and MIC are praying the situation in the middle east can be stoked to the point it spirals into an all out war between the regional powers because Mexico would be a cluster fuck of immediate blowback even though it would feed the machine and China would result in ending all life.

A vast majority of what domestic industrial capacity the US has is tied in some way to military hardware production or support services. The convoluted system of subcontracting used to make sure the maximum number of local businesses across the US get a little piece of the pie obfuscates this. Every product from Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop, Raytheon, etc has hundreds of downstream subcontractors that are small local manufacturers all across the US. You drive past an industrial park in any suburban part of the US, you can assume a sizeable number of those little boutique manufacturers you see as you go by are getting a taste of that sweet sweet defense production.

Funniest shit is years ago I had a part time job at a little factory in south eastern bum fk middle-of-nowhere Oregon whose entire business at the time depended on manufacturing an electrical junction box and wiring harness that went into the Apache attack helicopter. Was the only thing they made and sold them for something like $30,000 a pop.

To any libs stumbling in - “harm reduction” still implies you are being harmed.