I hadn't heard of this guy, fascinating tale of his meteoric rise and the unceasing marriage of entertainment technology to defense applications. The nerds continue to inherit, actually invent and own, are the better terms, the world. And his name, Palemer Luckey, is right out of central casting. His sister, doesn't appear to be as lucky, owing to her spouse being Matt Gaetz!

To be designed into a defense-related project, or programs, pretty much guarantees an income stream that could last decades. And if such a company requires parts that are scarce, they supercede commercial orders. There are literally thousands of American companies, some home to just a handful of employees to the major contractors (Northrup, BAE, Lockheed, L3 Communications, General Dynamics, and Raytheon). There are so many small to medium sized contractors out there that you will never read about. You'll find these companies conveniently located in all 50 states in order to secure adequate funding and provide employment to the locals. The relevant politician knows it's in his best interest, though perhaps not always America's, to keep the funding flowing.

Given an ascendant China, a revanchist Russia, an unpredictable and better armed North Korean, and the mullahs in Iran, I'm glad they are in our corner, but, I'm wary of the "guns and butter" tradeoffs, the surveillance state inherent within the MIC, and the corrupting influence on our politics with respect to campaign contributions. 

Eisenhower couldn't possibly have conceived of what technology has birthed. We can't possibly conceive of where AI will lead us!

Peter T.