The military industrial complex works because the politicians pad the contracts with the bomb makers and then they and their friends pocket the excess.

You could do the same thing with contracts for homeless shelters, parks, libraries, fixing pot holes, clean water projects, rural broadband, and any other public works project. The politicians don't though, they basically always choose bombs. That says an awful lot about them doesn't it?

How many single days has the US military blown up enough ordinance that it could have paid for the "unaffordable" repairs to the water system in Flint since we all forgot that was even a thing?