What who you rather get out of your tax dollars, roads and parks and fast internet, or explosives and ammo? Both mean jobs for Americans all the same. It's the value of the output that's different.
Why funnel efforts and capital into military instead of funneling the same into producing infrastructure, consumer goods, and advancing science? Yes, both are contributing to "the economy". One is creating collective value, the other is enriching military contractors and creating an incentive to wage war.
> People funnel money into the military because they are afraid of terrorists and whatever else is the flavor of the month.
Do you know any individuals who personally decided to funnel money into the military? It's an insatiable beast fed by political breakdown and cronyism.
You don't need many tanks to fight terrorists. Yet the army is forced to buy more tanks (against its own wishes!), because congressmen don't want the tank-production in their state to stop.
That's not how federal spending works. There is no fixed amount so spending money on the military does not preclude spending money on space research. Similarly, cutting military spending doesn't mean those savings would go into any other budget.
Why funnel efforts and capital into military instead of funneling the same into producing infrastructure, consumer goods, and advancing science? Yes, both are contributing to "the economy". One is creating collective value, the other is enriching military contractors and creating an incentive to wage war.