WWII had created a strong US economy, mostly for military spending coming out of the public treasury.
Lots of industrialists made a fortune during that period.
And it was going away after the war.
In the aftermath of World War II, US armed forces had not merely been reduced – they had been allowed to crumble to the brink of collapse.
Truman’s new Defense Secretary, Louis Johnson, had cut the military to the bone.
It makes sense that they needed to find a way to keep the country on a war footing in the absence of a real war.
Korea – and NSC-68 – provided exactly that.