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How is it possible that the defence budget increases annually but its not going into defence production?

A common anti-support-to-Ukraine talking point is that the weapons shipments to Ukraine from the US are drawing down US stockpiles, and the US defence production capacity is not able to keep up with this demand. If I misstated that position, please flesh it out further. My real question is: how is it possible that the US defence production isn't capable of reproducing the munitions and weapons that have been sent to Ukraine if the US defence budget increases every year? That's always the part that confused me. The US defence budget has precipitously increased in nominal terms since 2001, so if the money isn't going to defence production, where it it going? Is the problem that I'm looking at the nominal value and not defence spending as a share of the overall budget? Or is the problem that the money is being spent on something OTHER than defence production?

Andrew Yang

I first found out about Rising after hearing Andrew Yang on the JRE and searching out other interviews of him. After watching that interview I got hooked on rising/breaking points/the realignment. I have also continued to follow Andrew Yang, but currently it seems like he is losing a bit of steam. What are your all's thoughts on what will happen with him and the Forward Party? What is your analysis of their performance during 2022, including elections and ballot initiatives?

Gaetz + AOC: a Millennial Realignment?

Long time listener, first time supercast subscriber. (Please feel free to edit my question if you read it on air). Like many listeners I was delightfully surprised to see the AOC + Gaetz alliance form to put forward a bill banning members of congress from trading stocks. My take on this is that legislation like this is what happens when millennials lead in Congress. Not just in subject matter and issues we care about but also the fact that younger members of Congress don’t have a half century worth of baggage that Boomers come to the table with. I’m reminded by Kinzinfer’s take on this when he said the following: : "Frankly, the baby boomers are stuck in their same fights over and over. They hate each other. They've hated each other for a long time. It's going to take the younger generation to change all of this. Hopefully, the baby boomers can keep this together until we take larger power." I often joke with my friends that if student loans and housing were Boomer specific issues, that we’d see a bi-partisan 100 trillion dollar spending package to build 100 million sfh and cancel every penny of student debt. So my question is: Is the political dysfunction in Washington mostly a result of just a bunch of dumb old Boomers holding on to their jobs 20 years longer than they should? What would you think would happen to Washington if we could snap our fingers and reduce the average age in Congress by 30 years?

Looking Forward/Looking Back

If 15-20 years from now a teenager asks you for a piece of pop culture made in the post-2016 era (Movies, tv shows, books, video games, etc.) that captures the zeitgeist, what would you recommend?

Which would be worse for America, Trump or Biden 2024?

Between a 2024 Trump admin and a 2024 Biden admin, which would be worse (or better) for America? You could dissect this on foreign policy, the economy, social policy, SCOTUS appointments, etc.