I could build a great submarine if I was able to extort every US citizen and print money out of thin air. You can grow a lot of cotton very efficiently when you have slaves picking it.
The idea that some benevolent, make-believe, pie-in-the-sky, Santa Claus authority will spend the people's money better than the people themselves is ludicrous. It's an obvious extraction process.
That being said, if people voluntarily want to donate their money to the submarine project of their choice, then they have every right to. But, nobody has the right to tax their neighbor to build a submarine without their consent. You don't have that right. I don't have that right. Neither of us has any "representative" that morally or legitimately has that right. The only moral law is contract law where both parties agree to the terms.
Side note that the entire Navy is a farce. There is no need for aircraft carriers and submarines in modern warfare. They are sitting ducks.
Second side note, prosperity is not more important than freedom.
