The US economy unexpectedly shrank in the final quarter of 2012, contracting 0.1 percent:

The drop in gross domestic product was driven by a plunge in military spending, as well as fewer exports and a steep slowdown in the buildup of inventories by businesses. Anxieties about the fiscal impasse in Washington also contributed to the slowdown, one reason stockpiles grew more slowly.

But don't you worry. All that austerity Republicans are seeking to impose—those massive cuts in federal spending they long for—that won't be contractionary because... well... just because!

(Also, imagine if all that military spending propping up our economy was actually spent on stuff we need? One can always dream.)