Why a larger budget could not instantly rebuild capacity

A sudden increase in money cannot immediately create the organisation needed to spend it effectively. The hypothetical offer of ten times the budget exposes shortages of procurement officers, suitable yards, and supporting infrastructure. Expansion by 1937 depended partly on investment already made before that point. Treasury-backed shipyard closures ran against the need to rebuild capacity in this account. The contemporary arguments for closure concerned releasing workers for other industries and making urban land available for redevelopment. Larger appropriations could therefore arrive while the means of delivering ships still needed to be rebuilt.