>Are you saying that these firms are economically uncompetitive, with META, and should shut shop?

A company with same requirements but not the funding? Absolutely

>There are far more people who need code, than just the people at FAANG companies.

With different requirements you can find way more people.

In that case, there is 100% going to be a move to offshoring.

Ideally, the industry would relocate outside of the US, to a place where they can be competitive.

However, since this defense, they can’t, and will never be competitive.

So defense will languish.

I guess that’s all I have. I can’t see a way out of the situation if we accept your premise.

Defense margins aren’t going to beat social media margins, that too of something like meta.

Requirements are requirements. If you need a hammer, scalpels won’t help.

> Defense margins aren’t going to beat social media margins

Really? It's the first time I am hearing US is procuring defense for cheap!

If there is a margin issue, that's an efficiency problem, i.e. the company is being an idiot or deliberately wasteful/stealing (perhaps due to structural problems like overreliance on cost-plus contracts).

This isnt the first time you are hearing that social media margins are better than defense margins.

That is a misrepresentation of what was said, and an unkindness to the conversation being had.

Tech scales, in a way that manufacturing and physical products dont. I would assume that on HN, this is common knowledge, and that you also are aware of it.

> However, since this defense, they can’t, and will never be competitive.

The US defence budget is ~20x Meta revenues. They can be competitive, but they don't choose to allocate their resources that way.

They seem pretty happy to try to guilt trip people into taking the pay hit ‘for the good of the country’ while someone in the middle pockets the difference though.