Viewpoint: Forecasting the New Administration’s Impact on Defense
1/18/2021
By John C. Johnson
With each administration change the specter of uncertainty raises its head: Will the defense budget stay the course? Or, as a discretionary pool of money — approximately 50 percent — will the budget be tapped to plus-up social programs or serve to reduce budget deficits? Or perhaps both? This shift in administration is no different from those of the past, with the principal exception being the stark contrasts in political philosophy of the two candidates. This has fostered greater budgetary anxiety.
“Inside the Beltway†experts have predicted, with mounds of justification, a slight dip to a slight rise in defense allocations — bottom line, a flat budget. If these predictions are accurate, then the impact of the administration change will be minor, with shifts only in program priorities.
But planning for a seismic shift may be more prudent.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/1/18/forecasting-the-new-administrations-impact-on-defense
