{"id":342,"date":"2012-07-27T12:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T02:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=342"},"modified":"2012-07-30T16:19:04","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T06:19:04","slug":"defence-and-expectation-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/defence-and-expectation-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Defence and expectation management"},"content":{"rendered":"
There has already been some<\/a> debate<\/a> about<\/a> the insurance analogy on this blog. I personally like the theme as it makes it easy to explain Defence funding to those not familiar with what our defence forces actually do.<\/p>\n There was a time when almost every family in the land knew someone who was in the Defence forces, either past or present. Anecdotally, that doesn\u2019t seem to be the case anymore. All they see are mainstream media headlines that Defence costs a bucketload, can\u2019t handle money very well and stuff keeps breaking\/is delivered late\/doesn\u2019t work properly. And oh, look\u2014another review.<\/p>\n There is no rational, informed public debate outside the community that has an interest in the field. This can be the same for many fields though. Do you know the difference between AMA and Medicare scheduled fees for services? Why have many Masters programs at universities dropped from 12 unit points to 10? If you\u2019re in the field that cares, you know. If it doesn\u2019t directly affect your life, you don\u2019t tend to know.<\/p>\n How defence is funded matters insomuch to the average person as it relates to opportunity cost in their lives; how many university places\/hospital beds\/roads built could that money have been used for. This is not to say that the average voter doesn\u2019t care about defence but there is a lack of understanding about the political and economic nature of white papers in the wider community.<\/p>\n What the public sees of Defence work is truly a mixed bag. Working against the Taliban in Afghanistan: over it. Working in Afghanistan for counter terrorism: sure. Support to Australians after natural disasters in floods in Queensland and fires in Victoria: send them faster!<\/p>\n