The $1.5 trillion budget is the carrot. The executive order is the stick

The President announced he is pursuing a $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027 and unveiled a new executive order titled “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting.” The carrot of increased defense spending is welcome, and so is the stick of defense contracting accountability. The executive order states plainly that “while the United States produces the best military equipment in the world, we do not make enough of it quickly enough to meet the needs of our military and our partners.” It also identifies part of the problem. They are often a signal that a firm believes the future will not be better than the present and that internal investment opportunities (think R&D) are less attractive than external ones, what shareholders can do with the money outside of the firm.

Author: John G. Ferrari, Dillon Prochnicki, Real Clear Wire

---