How the military industrial complex robs taxpayers blind by overpricing military goods.

126  2017-07-31 by LightBringerFlex

I did 3 years in the Army and saw this first hand. At first, I thought the scam only involved the retailers but now I realize that the US Army was in on the scam. The people getting robbed are the US taxpayers.

Here's how it works:

  1. The military has a "lowest bid" policy meaning whenever they need something (IE grenades), they throw the bid out there and whoever bids the lowest wins the contract.

  2. The military retailers basically split up the many different products so that one company handles certain items, another company handles other items, ect.. This way, they aren't really competing with each other.

  3. When the military retailers make a bid, they bid very, very high to maximize profits. The profits are so insanely high that it was clear to everyone that a scam was being pulled in the military.

Sample items:

A piece of steel that is a mechanism to unscrew something in the breech was $330. This mechanism looked like it should cost $13.

A piece of rubber (3 inches x 3 inches) that fits in between 2 metal pieces costs $400 when it should cost about $20.

A gas mask costs about $1200 when it should cost about $180.

A "laser tag" style system on tanks cost $95,000 per tank. These mechanisms should cost no more than $3600.

Tank computers cost $150,000 each. Each M1A2 tank uses about 5 computers that always melt down in the heat so each tank has about 2 replaced per month. That's $300,000 per tank, per month.

There are an endless amount of items in the military and each one is overpriced like this... This is one major reason why our military is so expensive to run. The expenses are killing us but they pretend that these expenses are necessary by creating fake wars.

This is how they basically rob the tax payers blind using the military industrial complex. They charge way over what they should be charging. They decided to keep an endless war going so that they can keep charging and charging and charging until the US falls apart financially.

This is an insanely profitable venture and its a perfect example of misery for profit. These soldiers are fooled into thinking they are protecting the country when in reality, the rulers decide to go to war to make sick profits.

Also, the military uses soldiers to run most service jobs. Why don't they use soldiers to build their own weapons? Soldiers are very cheap considering the amount of work they put out. Why is there profit in war? The government should be producing its own weapons and gear instead of hiring private companies to build them. The private companies are essentially like the Federal Reserve in that they are not needed but they are used to make a handful of people a whole lot of money on behalf of the 99% who pay taxes. The whole thing is a scam to transfer money from the masses and consolidate it in the hands of the few which guarantees a slow death for the entire country.

22 comments

1  -G-A-R-D-E-N-E-R- 2017-07-31

$10,000 toilet seats again, eh?

Dad?

1  angry_cucumber 2017-07-31

I know it seems like a joke, but when it's an aircraft toilet (so it's not just something you get from home depot) and is manufactured on an as needed basis due to low demand, 700 bucks for a toilet seat is actually understandable.

1  ItsMeFatLemongrab 2017-07-31

No it is not understandable. injection moulding like 20 cents worth of plastic is not a $700 job.

If you were arguing about the cost of the jet engines or something I might even give it to you, but there is no way an aircraft needs a special toilet seat. Unless you can explain why peoples butts are a different shape in the air? Does it go under much more stress than normal toilet seats?

1  Stormtech5 2017-07-31

700$ ok, we have made plastic airplane toilets at my work, but $7000 you need your head checked!

1  Medicated_hate 2017-07-31

ACU's were a scam to the Soldiers too. As is the 75 uniform changes over the last 20 years.

(Yes, I know 75 is an exaggeration but that's what it feels like when you go through 5 service uniforms, 3 sets of PT's and 2 dress uniforms in 17 years, all out of pocket as your clothing allowance isn't near enough to cover all that)

1  Stormtech5 2017-07-31

Woodland camo forever!!!

1  Stormtech5 2017-07-31

I like how the new acu outfit is supposed to camouflage in all environments, but trying to cover all bases they have made a uniform that mostly sticks out screaming "shoot me!" in most areas it would be used...

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-07-31

on behalf of the 99% who pay taxes

You do know that 45% of US citizens do not pay taxes, right? Other than that, yes, the military needs to be reigned back. Nothing but a racket.

1  LightBringerFlex 2017-07-31

You do know that 45% of US citizens do not pay income tax, right?

True. I guess I mean that government money is really the people's money.. more or less.

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-07-31

Of course it's the people's money. The government stole it from us. That's how they get money, because they do not produce anything... other than death and destruction.

1  TXROADWARRIOR 2017-07-31

100% pay sales tax if were being pedants

1  Throwaway880716 2017-07-31

If we'really being pedants, then there's no sales tax on military installations.

1  FromNothin 2017-07-31

Head space and timing tools, which are used to calibrate the m2 machine gun cost hundreds of dollars.

They are literally 2 tiny metal tools that fit in your hand and weigh a total of maybe 3 ounces.

1  LightBringerFlex 2017-07-31

What a joke.

1  CalicoJacksRevenve 2017-07-31

Did you know that there was a Marine who wrote a book about this, about 70-80 years ago?

It's called 'War is Racket' by Gen. Smedley Butler.

It's the war economy.

1  stephenliss 2017-07-31

Also, The Pentagon Labyrinth. POGO.

http://dnipogo.org/labyrinth/

The Pentagon Labyrinth: Ten Short Essays to Help You Through It aims to help both newcomers and seasoned observers learn how to grapple with the problems of national defense. Intended for readers who are frustrated with the superficial nature of the debate on national security, this handbook takes advantage of the insights of ten unique professionals, each with decades of experience in the armed services, the Pentagon bureaucracy, Congress, the intelligence community, military history, journalism and other disciplines. The short but provocative essays will help you to:

identify the decay – moral, mental and physical – in America’s defenses,
understand the various “tribes” that run bureaucratic life in the Pentagon,
appreciate what too many defense journalists are not doing, but should,
conduct first rate national security oversight instead of second rate theater,
separate careerists from ethical professionals in senior military and civilian ranks,
learn to critique strategies, distinguishing the useful from the agenda-driven,
recognize the pervasive influence of money in defense decision-making,
unravel the budget games the Pentagon and Congress love to play,
understand how to sort good weapons from bad – and avoid high cost failures, and
reform the failed defense procurement system without changing a single law.

The handbook ends with lists of contacts, readings and Web sites carefully selected to facilitate further understanding of the above, and more.

Press / reviews:

The Atlantic
Forbes
Barron’s
National Defense Magazine
Project On Government Oversight
Mother Jones
The Seattle Pilot
Interview with Federal News Radio (with ads removed)
North County Times
Government Executive
David Isenberg
Truthout
Video: Q&A with Thomas Christie, Franklin Spinney and Pierre Sprey, moderated by POGO’s Danielle Brian
C-SPAN’s “Q and A” Show interviews Winslow Wheeler

Download the whole book in .pdf format, or find individual essays and supplemental materials below. You may also purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.com.

Table of Contents

Preface
About the Authors
Essays:

Why is this Handbook Necessary? Franklin C. Spinney
Penetrating the Pentagon. George Wilson
Learning about Defense. Bruce I. Gudmundsson
Congressional Oversight. Willing and Able or Willing to Enable? Winslow T. Wheeler
Careerism. Col. GI Wilson, USMC, ret.
Confused Alarms of Struggle and Flight: A Primer for Assessing Defense Strategy in the post-Iraq World. Col. Chet Richards, USAF, ret.
Follow the Money. Andrew Cockburn
Decoding the Defense Budget. Winslow T. Wheeler
Evaluating Weapons: Sorting the Good from the Bad. Pierre M. Sprey
Developing, Buying and Fielding Superior Weapon Systems. Thomas Christie

Suggested Readings, Links, Organizations and Contacts

Materials Cited:

Essay #1: Why is this Handbook Necessary? Franklin C. Spinney

“Genghis John.”  Proceedings of the U. S. Naval Institute. July 1997, pp. 42-47.
Statement before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations, Committee on Government Reform, US House or Representatives. June 4, 2002.
The New QDR: The Pentagon Goes Intellectually AWOL. CounterPunch. February 2010.
The JSF: One More Card in the House. Proceedings of the Naval Institute. August 2000.
Defense Death Spiral, September 1998.
Porkbarrels & Budgeteers: What Went Wrong with the Defense Review. September, 1997.
Defense Time Bomb; Background: F-22/JSF Case Study Hypothetical Escape Option. March 1996.
Three Reasons Why the ATF Should Not Be Approved for Engineering and Manufacturing Development. July 23, 1991.
Defense Power Games. October 1990.
Defense Facts of Life, 1980.
Shape Up and Fly Right: How to Build a Better Air Force for Less Money,1989

Essay #4: Congressional Oversight. Willing and Able or Willing to Enable? Winslow T. Wheeler

The Week of Shame: Congress Wilts as the President Demands an Unclogged Path to War

Essay #6: Confused Alarms of Struggle and Flight: A Primer for Assessing Defense Strategy in the post-Iraq World. Col. Chet Richards (USAF, ret.)

If We Can Keep It: A National Security Manifesto for the Next Administration
Shattering Illusions: A National Security Strategy for 2009-2017

Essay #8: Decoding the Defense Budget. Winslow T. Wheeler

1985 Military Reform Caucus Study
2011 Straus Military Reform Project Study on DOD Inflation
Air Force Cost per Flying Hour Data

Essay #9: Evaluating Weapons: Sorting the Good from the Bad. Pierre M. Sprey

Systems Analysis Problems of Limited War
M-16 Rifle Case Study
Notes on Close Air Support
Combat Effectiveness Considerations in Designing Close Support Fighters
Coming to Grips with Effectiveness in Rifles
Promise and Reality: Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-To-Air Combat
“Nothing’s too good for our boys!” — Why Can’t DOD give us Quality and Quantity?
Comparing the Effectiveness of Air-to-Air Fighters: F-86 to F-18
Small Arms Weapons Systems Analysis: A Review and Evaluation
Comparing the Effectiveness of Current Tanks
The Terrible Cost of Not Testing with Real Weapons, Shooting at Real Targets
Today’s OT&E: Abuses and Remedies
The Evaluation of Small Arms Effectiveness Criteria: Volume 1

Essay #10: Developing, Buying and Fielding Superior Weapon Systems. Thomas Christie

Paper on Oversight from DSB Task Force on Acquisition Streamlining

Suggested Readings, Links, Organizations and Contacts

America’s Defense Meltdown, Chapter 2: Shattering Illusions
America’s Defense Meltdown, Chapter 3: Leading the Human Dimension Out of a Legacy of Failure
America’s Defense Meltdown, Chapter 7: Reversing the Decay of American Air Power
Combat Lessons from Lebanon and the Falklands
Coming to Grips with Effectiveness in Rifles
Land-Based Tactical Aviation
Letting Combat Results Shape the Next Air-to-Air Missile
“Nothing’s too good for our boys!” — Why Can’t DOD give us Quality and Quantity?
Promise and Reality: Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-To-Air Combat
Radar: shield or target?
Strategic Bombing: Always a Myth
The “Military Reform” Debate: Directions for the Defense Establishment for the Remainder of the Century
Anti-Tank Warfare Seminar, October 14-15, 1976
Proceedings of Seminar on Air Antitank Warfare, May 1, 1979

1  -STpablo- 2017-07-31

I don't know if you meant to make a pun but you did. "Rob the taxpayer blind" made me laugh considering the lowest bidder is a company where everything is made by actual blind people.

1  gaslightlinux 2017-07-31

Yeah, there was always the joke about government incompetence for buying $500 hammers. It's part kickbacks, but it's also part how you make your black budget.

1  gaslightlinux 2017-07-31

Yeah, there was always the joke about government incompetence for buying $500 hammers. It's part kickbacks, but it's also part how you make your black budget.

1  zzielinski 2017-07-31

They do it like Kohl's: mark them up so that the rebel militia's and Islamic syndicates think they're getting an awesome deal.

1  baluchithyrium 2017-07-31

Great post. Further to this, do you know who ends up getting most of this money that the military has wasted?

1  LightBringerFlex 2017-07-31

The companies that make the equipment for the military end up making the most money but I'm not sure what the company names are.

Now they are also using mercenaries which cost an arm and a leg.

1  Shibbyone 2017-07-31

Healthcare is pretty much the same way.