Democracy Comes at a High Price… and a Double-Digit Margin

Andy Snyder|April 20, 2022

“It’s hell on earth,” said a desperate soldier on the front lines.

He’s begging for America to send more bombs.

“The entire city has been wiped off the map,” said another fighter from inside the war zone.

The war machine cranks on to defend democracy.

The Pentagon is now slated to get $7.3 trillion in funding over the next decade… four times what the president plans to spend on America’s infrastructure.

If some lawmakers (perhaps the majority) on both sides get their way, that figure could rise even higher.

It’s good news for the folks who make hell on earth for a living.

Shares of Lockheed Martin (LMT), General Dynamics (GD) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX) sit at fresh all-time highs. They’re three of the surest corporate bets in American history.

Indeed, democracy comes at a high price… and a double-digit net margin.

Attack!

As we sat down to write this morning, the sun rose above the pasture and Mrs. Manward stirred in quite a panic.

A fox was in the pen with the lambs.

It’s the second time we’ve seen him in as many days.

The first was well before the first hints of dawn. We’d ventured out in the still of night to check on one of our bottle lambs – a little fella abandoned by his first-time momma.

The redtail sat on top of a small hill, patiently watching the flock as it slept.

A blob of light in the night, we weren’t much of a threat. But the metallic clink of a round seating into a single-cartridge rifle chamber was enough to send him on his way.

This morning, he was bolder.

He snuck beneath two fences, moving from the grandstands right onto the playing field.

He was mere feet from twin lambs born just 48 hours ago. Their mother merely watched with a confused look in her eyes.

Sheep will be sheep.

And so we continue to keep a close eye on the flock. They can’t protect themselves. For our benefit, their fight and their instinct have been bred out of them.

They wait for their food, lie around when they can and hope the old man with the rifle is a crack shot.

It’s not the way it’s supposed to be. But it’s the way it is.

Indeed… The Way It Is

Should we be ashamed that Lockheed gets $75 billion worth of government contracts each year?

Should we be embarrassed that Washington has earmarked more than $24 billion for something known as “missile defense and defeat” while our education budget is shrinking?

Many say yes.

They say it’s a despicable idea that a country spends many times more on its defense than on its education.

But our job isn’t to teach our sheep. We’ve proven to be no good at that. But a mother, oh my, she can have her lambs up and running just minutes after their birth.

It is a thing of wonder.

Our government truly has just a few simple mandates… shelter our weak, defend our rights and protect us from our enemies.

Should we be ashamed that we spend so much to prevent hell on earth?

Or should we be embarrassed that we’re so good at creating it?

More to the point… Should we hang our heads as we collect our profits from owning shares of some of the most lethal companies on the planet?

Or should we raise our noses in pride, knowing the flock is safe?

We’ll let you decide.

Just remember, the next generation is watching.

And so is the fox.