ABSTRACT
National security has not been the only or even the most prominent aspect of the ongoing political difficulties facing the United States that were introduced in Chapter 1, but there are strong national security implications implicit (and in some cases explicit) for non-securitybased decisions in the gridlock that has immobilized politics. Austerity’s impact on national security funding stands out. No one proposing various austerity solutions wants to harm the country’s security, but people whose primary concern is with national security worry that harm could result if the country’s security needs are not adequately considered.
