Answer:
This is the gist, assuming that this is in reference to the big stick policy in terms of the military.
An advantage of the big stick policy is that having a large military acts as a deterrent. We have a big stick (a large military) but we are relatively confident that we won't have to use it very frequently because of how menacing it seems from the outside.
A disadvantage is that billions of dollars are pumped into the military to make it so large, and it can be argued that that is an extortionate amount of money and that it should be put towards things that help at home.