What I mean is universities tend to be in cities with a few satellite branches in rural towns. Spread the “production” across as many Congressional Districts as possible to optimize for votes. When the system incentivizes pandering to rural areas that is the only winning move.
Is this different than how military spending is spread, though? That's not a rhetorical question- I'm not tuned in enough to know.
Even though I've seen military bases in the middle of nowhere, I've certainly seen some bases and defense contractors (Raytheon, Lockheed, etc) in non-rural areas.
I'm cynically, and pessimistically, kind of assuming that it's really just about what's being funded in this case. Military spending is pretty much always supported by both politicians and the public, whereas there is a VERY strong anti-science and anti-academia wave in our culture at the moment (even more so than I always used to think there was...).
The large contractors are usually based in cities, but their employees are wherever the work is. Often they'll have a small office at the facility where the work is being done. Long-term contract workers usually live nearby and keep the same job, jumping from company to company following the contract.
I've done IT a long time, and I once was sent to a gleaming new building.. In an Indiana corn field. In the middle of nowhere, for Indiana. They made very small number of parts (or mostly one) for the military. It was probably an F35 part. An entire bespoke business for a part...
