Wichita Was Lucky to Lose the Tanker Contract

There is little stomach in the West to defend democracy around the world and, as night follows day, those aging republics which constitute the West show little appetite for spending on the weapons of war.

Defense spending is falling throughout the developed world. Prudent firms and metropolitan areas desiring growth will invest in more pacific lines of businesst. There was great outrage in Wichita when Boeing shifted the dwindling jobs for the Tanker contract to Seattle and other cities to satisfy its unions.  Yet when commercial aircraft is waxing and military aerospace is waning, shifting from jobs dependent on defense spending to civilian activity is a sound investment in the future.

Reports from the world of commerce confirm this.  Peggy Hollinger, Industry Editor for the Financial Times, wrote on September 16, 2014 that Airbus will streamline defense and space division by selling or otherwise divesting itself of units.

Doug Cameron and Robert Wall predict in the Wall Street Journal that Boeing may no longer be in the fighter business as orders for F/A-18 run out.  Management shifts toward bombers, drones and trainers. Boeing's revenues from the military side fell from almost 60%  to under 40% over nine years.

As Russia becomes more adventurous and China more assertive, America has grown weary of being the arsenal of democracy.  The capitalists have taken note.