Military 

The U.S. Still Leans on the Military-Industrial Complex

If you want to see what President Trump can do to expand manufacturing in America, look past his criticism of free trade and the few jobs he may have saved at Carrier. Instead, look at his plans for the military.

Manufacturing has always relied on public funding in one form or another, and in particular on outlays for weaponry, even nearly three decades after the end of the Cold War. Roughly 10 percent of the $2.2 trillion in factory output in the United States goes into the production of weapons sold mainly to the Defense Department for use by the armed forces.

And the spending shows. The United States, after all, has 10 aircraft carriers in active service versus just one for China, although China has a bigger manufacturing industry than the United States. One can argue that China is bent on big increases in weapons production and is still in the early stages. Whatever the case, America’s weapons production is still far greater than China’s, while China has burnished its reputation as a manufacturer of civilian goods for export and, increasingly, for its own citizens.