In general, I agree, but for every destroyer built, how many dock workers wound up being able to buy one of those houses with their salary? It offsets the problem, at least somewhat.
That doesn't change the calculus because the offset applies equally to both sides. Suppose you had paid the workers the same amount to build schools instead. They would still be able to buy houses with their salaries, but now there would also be a bunch of nice new schools.
I think the problem is we need to reach world stability. Look at Europe and Japan --economies which had invested relatively little into militaries, they are both reconsidering their previous position due to mainly two factors, the US disengaging, relatively speaking, and a perceived (and by perceived i don't mean imagined) threat from strengthening militaries in Russia and China, which given Europe and Japans previous dependence on the US left them in a era position to respond to growing threats.
This hits on honestly the only regret I have with the recent military history of the US. I don't mind that we spend $150 million on "warp speed death machines". I do mind that we spend some of that in the name of protecting countries which are perfectly capable of protecting themselves. Assisting allied forces with our own is fine; replacing them is not.
Sure, but it's hard to argue that it is a better result than if you paid those same dock workers for building schools, out of that same government money, or if instead of a destroyer they were housing a fleet of cargo ships used for commerce. In the best possible case, seeing military spending as economic stimulus amounts to "we will use the fear our citizens have of other people to institute backdoor and inefficient redistribution and science research programs; because we failed at getting them to consent to fund those same goals directly out of care for others."
Of course, this assumes economic stimulus is really the main reason for military spending, which is probably not how the people in charge of these programs see it.
