To: Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics, Princeton University, Robert Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley, and Joe Stiglitz, Professor of Economics, Columbia University

Ask a Keynesian: With Borrowing Capped, Won't More Pentagon Spending Destroy Jobs?

Prominent Keynesian economist "public intellectuals," like Paul Krugman, Robert Reich, and Joe Stiglitz should help educate the public about the fact that in the current federal budget political environment, with federal borrowing capped by the Budget Control Act and increased taxes on the super-rich judged politically off the table, more Pentagon spending will destroy American jobs. The money for increased Pentagon spending will come from cuts to domestic spending and increased taxes on the middle class, and taking money out of the domestic economy will destroy more jobs than the increased Pentagon spending will create.

Why is this important?

In the current federal budget context, in which federal borrowing is capped under the Budget Control Act, and increased taxes on the super-rich like a Wall Street speculation tax are considered off the table, it's an economic fact that unnecessary Pentagon spending will destroy jobs. That's because with borrowing capped, more Pentagon spending will mean more cuts to domestic spending and higher taxes on working families. That means a "Grand Bargain" which includes cuts to Social Security, higher taxes on the 99%, and turning off Pentagon cuts will destroy American jobs.

This fact about unnecessary Pentagon spending is documented in a 2011 study by the University of Massachusetts.

More Americans don't know this because our leading Keynesian economist public intellectuals haven't publicly championed this fact.

Urge Paul Krugman, Robert Reich, and Joe Stiglitz to publicly champion the fact that in the current federal budget environment, in which federal borrowing is capped, and increased taxes on the super-rich are considered off the table, increased Pentagon spending will destroy American jobs.

References:
"The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities: 2011 Update," Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, December 2011
http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/PERI_military_spending_2011.pdf
"Wall Street Visits Washington, the Grand Bargain Returns and Other Tales from the Kidnap House," Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO,10/03/2013
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Wall-Street-Visits-Washington-the-Grand-Bargain-Returns-and-Other-Tales-from-the-Kidnap-House
"Ask a Keynesian: With U.S. Borrowing Capped, Won't More Pentagon Spending Destroy Jobs?" Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, 10/07/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/ask-a-keynesian-with-us-b_b_4059484.html