Military Build‑Up as Industrial‑Policy Cover

The budget proposal treats defense expansion as the primary vehicle for reindustrialization, funneling broad 'industrial base' investment through the Pentagon rather than through civilian industrial policy, which risks misaligned priorities, weak spillovers to the broader economy, and lower political support for nonmilitary manufacturing upgrades. This repackaging turns industrial policy into a national‑security program that is funded by borrowing and cuts to social services instead of transparent tax or investment choices. — If reindustrialization becomes a label for massive defense spending, debates over manufacturing, jobs, and supply‑chain resilience will be militarized, reducing democratic clarity on who pays and which economic goals are pursued.