This is what Republicans mean when they talk about "defense" spending. This is what Republicans want to keep spending our money on while they cut spending on welfare programs that actually help Americans. Such disgusting hypocrisy. I'm not saying Democrats are much better, by the way. Generally speaking, they're more than happy to vote for this kind of spending. But at least they aren't going around blabbing endlessly about "small government" and "liberty" the way Republicans do. The US empire is bankrupting the country. And Republicans are the number one reason for that.
The hypocrisy is with the left. They are the ones that place the regulations on ALL hardware coming from the private sector. Here just a few that I know of and have to comply with every day. Full tracability: this regulation provides that the contractor prove were the material comes from and every "owner" along the way up to delivery. (my company uses gold in our processes. We have to prove where it was dug out of the ground and every "owner" in the chain. This often triples the price of the dust we purchase.) Proof of American origin: Every component MUST be of American origin. And every component of the tooling and fixturing must comply. This adds thousands to many manufacturing costs. Company wide audits: Just what it says. They want to see everything. Financials, employment records, e-mails, inter company correspondence, ISO reports, EPA documentation.....
I worked for a company that supplied electronic components to defense contractors. The paper work that you quote costs about $700 for every lot of material. If that part was not in stock, to make one part is almost as time consuming to make 100. Prototype parts are very expensive.
The military is incompetent just like the rest of government. I could babble endlessly about smaller government but I will spare you.
This sort of thing has always been a problem regardless of who is the president. And Trump hasn't fixed anything. He's added two trillion to the US debt since becoming president.
That is so not true. We are against this type of fraud as much as anyone. Do you hear us calling for not investigating companies and the prices they charge our government?
I know nothing about this and I am not defending the suppliers. When the $600 toliet seat news came out yars ago some wag said it $20 for seat, $580 for the paperwork. I know of two small CEOS who had companies. One was approached by the DOD with money. When he learned of the paperwork he walked away. The other had to take the money but was astounded by the paperwork and the full time employee just to handle it.
Way back when I was in the Navy, we ordered a bunch of tools, and we noticed that we got charged over a thousand bucks for a "torque amplifier". What the dickens is a torque amplifier? Turns out it's the black grip thingie on the handle of a screwdriver. Your tax dollars, hard at work.
Nothing like a government contract if you want to become rich. This is why Russia is able to duplicate almost everything we have militarily at about 1/10th the cost. I don't doubt that Congress which approves of all this spending, is heavily invested in it.
I see Republicans steadfastly refusing to contemplate even the tiniest reduction in military spending.
I use to work at Westinghouse defense. When I became a supervisor there were 3 books of regulations and some of the regulations seemed to contradict others. Requiring mil spec involves a whole lot of testing and red tape. If you are making a part and the military is only going to buy a few of them, you have to factor in all the design, engineering, and tooling required to make a device. The fewer made, the more cost is divided into each one.
I blame both parties for what happened. I blame a very corrupt system, corrupt over many long years. I recognize crimes committed by both parties. I am independent.
They're not Republicans, it's coming from both sides in Congress. The neo con and globalist war machine is continuing, after all we have to 'contain' Russia but for what? So we can go to war? Maybe? Since it won't affect us, only the fools on Russia's borders that are arming themselves. Oh well, it's keeping our military industrial complex happy - and those who will gain from it. No doubt they are the same people that are pushing the 'Russia is evil' propaganda. I can name them, but I won't.
I already said both sides condone this sort of thing. The difference is that Democrats don't pretend to support small government the way Republicans do. I would rather have an honest enemy than a false friend.
Many conservatives want to see less spending but they get shouted down. During the campaign Trump said he could get along with Putin and maybe we should withdraw from NATO. Billions of dollars in spending were threatened and the deep state went to work. Now we have bad relations with Russia and sanctions for stupid reasons. I could not figure it out until Dennis Kucinich came out and said it was the military industrial complex at work. Tulsi came out against war and was called a tool of Putin! When Trump said he wanted to pull out of Sryia and Afghanistan most of congress went nuts. Most in DC like the conflict in Korea just as it is. Some military vets from the navy want to see a smaller ship navy but one that is fully manned, trained, and has spare parts. The recent US navy ship demolition derby does not bode well for us.
This isnt a Republican or Democrat issue, this is a purchasing issue. Was there no other bids? Did nobody in government purchasing evaluate the contract award? This is precisely why government sucks. It isntbtheir money, they dont care. It doesnt matter who holds office. No private business would pay that... but government does it better?
A majority of Republicans voted against a balanced budget that reduced spending by a measly 2%. The Republican party is not conservative. The Republican party is not in favor of small government. Every Republican who voted against this bill should be voted out of office and replaced with a real conservative.
Imposing term limits on those spendthrifts would be a wise idea, too - what's good for the President is good for Congress. Restrictions on lobbying across the board would be helpful, too. Having lived in the Washington area I've seen the corrupting influence it has on people, civilian and military. The less time they spend there the better.
