alt Hacker NewsThis reminds of a debate in the German parliament 30 years back or so, about the cost for the Eurofighter project (IIRC). Essentially one speaker had argued against the staggering cost, and a second speaker from the government defended the project by saying how many jobs it created. Someone shouted that building a pyramid in honor of Helmut Kohl and it would create a lot of jobs as well, that didn't mean it's a good idea.
The Kohl pyramid vs Eurofighter is a funny but very poor example that isn't remotely comparable. Useless defence projects have the advantage that it keeps institutional know-how from being lost and ready for the time when war actually comes for you. That's why Europe has been left unprepared by the war in Ukraine and why the US is the defense powerhouse.