1.5 Trillion Dollars

This is a letter to the Editor of the LA Times that didn’t make print:

Subject: The Pentagon’s $10 Billion Dollar Bet Gone Bad

The Pentagon hands arms merchants like Boeing and Raytheon no-bid contracts for exorbitant projects that don’t even work? This is another example of the dangers of the military-industrial complex: overpriced missile interceptors mothballed before a single test, gee-whiz lasers that can’t fire far enough to reach their target and oversize rockets too big to fit on ships.

The Times investigation could be the inspiration for a Monty Python script—if it weren’t so scary. President Dwight Eisenhower warned us against this formidable union of military contractors and the armed forces—one that robs the public and endangers public security. Sadly, the old scam of waving the flag and fleecing taxpayers seems alive and well.

—————————————————————————————————————————

The F-35 is destined to cost 1.5 trillion dollars over it’s development span. These articles explore just how bad one bet has become.

Business Insider: Here Are All the Problems With the F-35

http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-all-the-problems-with-the-f-35-that-the-pentagon-found-in-a-2014-report-2015-3

Business Insider: Why the Pentagon is Spending So Unbelievably Much On the F-35

http://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-martin-f-35-guide-2014-4