Defense spending ‘incredibly important’ for Hawaii during COVID-19 pandemic

Defense spending in Hawaii — about $5 billion annually in payroll and $2 billion-plus in contracts — has been “an incredibly important stabilizing force” in the state with an economy otherwise wracked by COVID-19, Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, said Friday.

Capt. Greg Burton, commander of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, the state’s largest industrial employer, said at the same Chamber of Commerce Hawaii military partnership forum where Bonham appeared that the shipyard remained resilient despite manpower impacts as the pandemic unfolded.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/01/10/hawaii-news/defense-spending-incredibly-important-for-hawaii-during-covid-19-pandemic/