In the month of October, up to the 22nd – and as far as we know – the “Defense” Department had granted a cool $ 2,444,276,312 for the Navy’s various warship programs. Then the following was published on October 25th:

“Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $ 142,719,375 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-2102) for engineering, technical, design, configuration management, integrated logistics support, database management, research and development, modernization, trade and industrial support for nuclear submarines …”

So – as far as we can determine – that cool figure now comes to $ 2,586,995,687. That’s just for the Navy – and only for the month of October, mind you – and it’s beginning to bother us. Why do we need dozens and dozens of nuclear submarines and their hundreds of nuclear missiles? Just one of these submarines – just one – has the firepower to destroy the entire world, yet we continue to waste money by adding these warships to the largest (and uncontested) navy the world has ever seen.

The next question is, why would anyone in his (or her) right mind even consider launching a missile with a nuclear warhead? Is it possible that all those billions being awarded aren’t actually being used to build weapons? Could it be that much of that money is being siphoned off by, y’know, politicians and CEOs, and such? Nah.

Let’s look at what that $ 2,586,995,687 could have accomplished if it had been set aside for peaceful, job-creating programs. Like for instance an Emergency Shipbuilding Program – like the ones FDR set up in the 1930s. In no time at all those programs ended the Great Depression, remember, and such a program would bring a quick end to today’s “recession”.

Using that kind of money to get 87.5% financing under Title XI would enable us to work with some $ 20,695,965,496 – still chicken feed compared to the bankster bail-out money a few months ago – but that $ 20 billion would create a lot of jobs and would initiate a “multiplier effect”.

– Spending $ 100 million per yard and revitalizing 50 shipyards would cost only $ 5 billion.
– Creating jobs for 10,000 workers at each yard would provide employment for 500,000 folks.
– Because 16 offsite workers are required to support every one of those shipyard employees, another 8 million jobs would be created.
– Each of the 50 yards could punch out six of our patented container ships each year.
– Those 300 new vessels each year could each sell at a profit of $ 20 million – that’s a $ 6 billion total profit for every 300 vessels built.
– Crewing those new 300 ships per year would put many, many unemployed mariners back to work.
– Buying those profitable ships would offer taxpayers honest investment opportunities.

A final question. Do you know that not one red cent of profit is generated by expensive warships?