There are tons of arguments to make for new spending priorities. Some are practical some are moral, some are both.

But if you are interested in quality jobs or economic development at the state and local levels, you should take a look at a University of Massachusetts study examining different spending scenarios.

Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier … “show that investments in clean energy, health care and education create a much larger number of jobs across all pay ranges, including mid-range jobs (paying between $32,000 and $64,000) and high-paying jobs (paying over $64,000).”

The authors of the study add that “channeling funds into clean energy, health care and education in an effective way will therefore create significantly greater opportunities for decent employment throughout the U.S. economy than spending the same amount of funds with the military.”

For the full report on the study:

The U.S. employment effects of military and domestic spending priorities: an updated analysis
http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/spending_priorities_PERI.pdf
Political Economy Research Institute
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
October 2009