Boeing Overcharging?, Hawks Yawn!

A 'Patriotic' U.S. company ripping off the Army and the American Tax Payers, and military procurement officers allowing it to happen, knowing many will go to work for these defense contractors after their service, especially with two long occupations still ongoing, say it ain't so!

Oh wait we've heard this all before, DeJa-Vu all over again and again and again.........., and the american public embraces the ever increasing defense budgets, while Not Demanding Sacrifice for those they send into our wars of choice, the decades long underfunding of the VA as more and more combat veterans join us older veterans of our previous adventures, the testing grounds for our WMD's. It buys all that Tough National Security as we create more hatreds towards not only our government international policies but us for allowing those policies.

June 28, 2011 - The Army was charged $23 million for spare helicopter parts worth only $10 million, according to a Defense Department inspector general's report made public Tuesday by the Project on Government Oversight.

Aerospace and defense contractor Boeing billed the Army $1,678.61 for a plastic roller assembly that was available for $7.71 internally from Pentagon supplies, according to the report.The company also charged the Army $71.01 per unit for a set of metal pins that Defense could have provided for 4 cents, a POGO analysis said, a markup of more than 177,000 percent.

"We're not sure which is more outrageous -- Boeing's audacity in ripping off taxpayers, or the Army blindly accepting Boeing's jacked-up prices," said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian. "This report raises serious questions about whether this is symptomatic of a much larger problem with oversight of contracts."

The 142-page report, dated May 3, is marked "For Official Use Only." A shorter summary had appeared on the Defense inspector general's website, reported first by Bloomberg News. {read more}

And what does this report have within, POGO has the report in an online document reader, summary on right side of:

Army "overpaid incentives for the repair turnaround time improvements" - Boeing owes the Army an additional refund of $6.3 million to $10.9 million

Hundreds of millions of already purchased spare parts in DoD's inventory went unused

DoD's inventory sufficient to meet demand for 1,635 parts for which Boeing has a new contract, and DoD inventory of those parts is significantly cheaper

Boeing charged $13 million more "than fair and reasonable prices for the 18 parts"

Ramp Gate Roller Assembly: Boeing Price $1,678.61 Vs. DLA Price $7.71 in 2009 Spur Gear: Boeing Price $644.75 Vs. DLA Price $12.51 in 2009 {read more}

Remember All those reports coming out of the two theaters of occupation as to equipment the soldiers had and the shoddy work done by the no bid private contractors in theater, and the soldiers being killed and maimed because of, while the defense secretary at the time saying you go to war with the military you got!

War profiteering or a real patriotic corporation executives sitting in their corporate suites while soldiers die, who by the way get an ever growing list of corporate writeoff perks and for the past decade plus have paid little in taxes on their ever rising compensation and bonuses, same for their big wall street investors, you decide!

And I'll bet they'll blame all these over the top prices, bottom line capitalist profit, on the wages paid to the actual experienced workers and the benefits they have to supply to same, they always do and not only in the highly profitable national defense industry. Not to worry in those corporate offices though as they just pick up and move production to a lower wage so called 'right to work' state, employers can be fired for no reason they then have to fight for unemployment, with probably a huge sweetheart deal on the backs of the states tax payers as well as no union thus less in benefits for the hard working and intelligent labor, if that doesn't work they'll move someplace off shore, trade experiences and all.