Whenever someone brings up rethinking military spending, there's a fair question that comes up: what about the jobs?

Robert takes this question seriously. He explores the work of economist Seymour Melman, who spent decades developing plans for "economic conversion" helping defense workers transition to civilian industries.

Congress never fully embraced the idea, and when Cold War spending dropped, unprepared communities paid the price. We did this before. After World War II, the U.S. converted an entire war economy in just a few years. The question is whether we're willing to plan ahead.

Topics: economic conversion, defense jobs, Seymour Melman, workforce transition, manufacturing, Cold War