Jim told him, and while the other was on his feet mixing the drinks, said, "You figure on sticking to the same line this year?"
"Have to," Vovo said over his shoulder. "What's the alternative?"
"I don't know. We're building up to a whale of a depression as it is, even with half the economy running full blast producing defense materials."
Vovo chuckled, "Defense materials. I wonder if ever in the history of the human race anyone ever admitted to producing offense materials."
"Well, you call it the same thing. All your military equipment is for defense. And, of course, according to your press, all ours is for offense."
"Of course," Vovo said.
He brought the glasses back and handed one to the other. He slumped back into his chair again, loosened two buttons of his trousers.
"Jim," Vovo said, "why don't you divert more of your economy to public works, better roads, reforestation, dams—that sort of thing."
Jim said wearily, "You're a better economist than that. Didn't your boy Marx, or was it Engels, write a small book on the subject? We're already overproducing—turning out more products than we can sell."
"I wasn't talking about your government building new steel mills. But dams, roads, that sort of thing. You could plow billions into such items and get some real use out of them. We both know that our weapons will never be used—they can't be."