Economy Pentagon Buries Evidence of $125,000,000,000 in Bureaucratic Waste (And Nobody Seems To Care)

[AndroidRage]

It's kind of about time for the US to quit being a world power.

Hell how many vets are commiting suicide? Peasants handing Yanks a daily L

What?

 

[Ruprecht]

We're going to have to hope that Omarosa has a tape about this or it will never be covered by the MSM for more than a blurb.

It got political coverage, but the story is going on 2 years old.

 

[Arkain2K]

It got political coverage, but the story is going on 2 years old.

The issue of incredibly wasteful spending by the Pentagon is actually decades old. There would be some kind of study every few years, the press would casually mention it, and then it would quickly disappears, replaced by hard-hitting yellow journalism pieces gleefully spreads the partisan crowd.

Think about it, how many times have you seen this headline shared on social media vs. some trivial shit involving Trump? This is why @Anung Un Rama sarcastically mentioned Omarosa. I'm willing to bet that she got more mainstream news coverage this week alone than this study got in the last two years combined.

It's sad, but when it comes to policy, 2/3 of Americans are conditioned to think as a Democrat or a Republican first. In this case, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party are fully paid for by the Military Industrial Complex, so you won't see many high-ranking politicians raging on front of a camera about it like with other trivial subjects, and neither are their partisan drones, who don't give a shit either because there's no partisan points to score here, not when they're busy getting outraged by juicy topics such as a President's goft routine, or hair, or hands, or icecream, or soda, or some other completely-pointless shit fitting for TMZ.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

It got political coverage, but the story is going on 2 years old.

 

[Ruprecht]

The issue of incredibly wasteful spending by the Pentagon is actually decades old. There would be some kind of study every few years, the press would casually mention it, and then it would quickly disappears, replaced by hard-hitting yellow journalism pieces gleefully spreads the partisan crowd.

Think about it, how many times have you seen this headline shared on social media vs. some trivial shit involving Trump? This is why @Anung Un Rama sarcastically mentioned Omarosa. I'm willing to bet that she got more mainstream news coverage this week alone than this study got in the last two years!

It's sad, but when it comes to policy, 2/3 of Americans are conditioned to think as a Democrat or a Republican first. In this case, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party are fully paid for by the Military Industrial Complex, so you don't see many high-ranking politicians raging on front of a camera about it like with other trivial subjects, and neither are their partisan drones, who don't give a shit either because there's no partisan points to be made here, not when they're busy getting outraged by juicy topics such as a President's goft routine, or hair, or hands, or icecream, or soda, or some other shit fitting for TMZ.

I don't know, I've read plenty of discussion of Trump's plan to increase military spending while (supposedly, he's a bit incoherent on it) decreasing it's overseas commitments, diplomatic efforts and foreign aid. Quite a few of which even referenced the Defence Business Board report from 2015.
Most "news" is vapid, dog on a surfboard stuff, and social media sharing tends to represent the worst of it. There's rarely an article that would even take 5 minutes to read.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

You don't actually think they spend $20,000 on a hammer, $30,000 on a toilet seat, do you?

 

[Headkicktoleg]

Well yeah, it's the government.

 

[cincymma79]

Or lets look at both problems as separate issues. How about that?

No. You shouldn’t care about him buying Jordan’s with his ebt. That’s racist sexist kkk

 

[Trotsky]

LOL @ "based on fear that Congress would use it as an excuse to slash the defense budget."

 

[Fluffernutter]

I love how the Pentagon killed this because they were afraid that evidence of waste would undermine their claims that they needed more money. The self-serving nature of that statement is so fundamentally fucked up. The evidence of waste is exactly why they don't need more money but they don't care. They could apply half that waste to the troops and cut the rest and still have our troops in a better place overall with a lower budget.

They could waste a trillion and get two trillion in return.

As long as the MIC "creates jobs" in every congressional district in the US, nothing will change.

 

[Arkain2K]

Amazing how many people don't realize this.

It's willful ignorant at this point, I think.

They could waste a trillion and get two trillion in return.

As long as the MIC "creates jobs" in every congressional district in the US, nothing will change.

These changes has to start from the people.

It will change when the plebs learns that $125 Billion in actual wasteful spending still happening right now is a hell lot more than say, $90 Million in proposed wasteful spending.

Guess which one got a lot more coverage from the mainstream media and selective-outrage by the general public, only because a certain name is attached to it?

 

[nostradumbass]

The government mismanaged funds? I'm shocked by this news. You can usually count on them to not waste tax dollars.

 

[badascan]

the working class constantly gets shit on and it's the boots and backs of the working class that allows this scum to use and waste and lie and promote a system that is against their interest...when will it change? When one checks out, that's when...

 

[pinger]

I'm not sure anyone is interested in actually investigating the waste.

Isn't it commonly known that alot of this money us allowed to fall through the cracks and is appropriated for black ops?

Plausible deniability, arms length and all that.

 

[Madmick]

How the fvk is it two separate issues? Both cases are welfare plain and simple. You just dont have a problem with the Pentagon wiping its arse with $125,000,000,000 because its the military you hypocrite.

It sure looks to me like this is what is going on.

It appears little different than those basket-weaving programs the Nordic countries have installed for migrants. You pay a bunch of people to make meaningless crafts for which there is no demand. This is actually more destructive than just giving them money, because now they're consuming resources with no utility, but this way, it's easier to sell the handout to people who produce. You say, "Hey, at least they're working."

Military or migrant...welfare is welfare. It's always bullshit if it isn't a temporary support system holding over until that person finds actual purpose/value.

 

[HIMBOB]

Honestly not all that surprising.


It's only about $400 each for every man woman and child.

It's totally offensive. We waste so much on """defense.""" It's not defense, people.

I remember thinking a school mates Dad was a bit of a pussy because he was in the defence force. Surely the real men were in the offence force.

 

[HIMBOB]

300 level public economics. Business tries to increase profits, government agencies try to increase their size. There is not always an incentive to be efficient in any government.

Same applies to companies.

The Agency Problem is well known.

Managers look after themselves first, shareholders second.
Numerous attempts are made to align to two but probably never going to happen.

 

[cincymma79]

This proves that there is no waste in government and looking at the even larger government programs would be too racist sexist and kkk to trim them would make you hitler x 10

 

[cincymma79]

It's kind of about time for the US to quit being a world power.

Hell how many vets are commiting suicide? Peasants handing Yanks a daily L

How much higher is the suicide rate than the general public?

 

[Arkain2K]

Pentagon bureaucracy reform is finally coming
By Steve Forbes | 04/04/19

The Department of Defense, the single largest employer in the United States, is the premier fighting force in the world. However, its business operations have never received a passing grade.

Fortunately, that is starting to change with the appointment of Lisa Hershman as acting chief management officer at the Pentagon. Congress created this powerful position last year to make the business practices of the department more efficient, transparent, and cost effective. It is the third highest ranked Pentagon office and is charged with identifying opportunities to save money on contracts, eliminate redundant programs, and cut unnecessary costs. Its mission is to streamline the department and bring a business mindset to the interminable bureaucracy of defense procedures.

That is no easy job to say the least. While the American military is the best trained and most effective fighting force in the world, endless Pentagon bureaucracy, especially with procurement, is a voracious beast that devours resources and imposes practices that delay the completion of upgraded weapons systems while sending prices to the stratosphere. The agency has the largest budget of any organization in the world, coming in at nearly $700 billion in 2018. Its budget and business practices are notoriously arcane. Much of the budget goes to wasteful line items.

The Army has admitted that it failed to keep track of more than $1 billion in weapons in Iraq. In Afghanistan, the department paid $28 million more on camouflaged uniforms than was necessary. The kicker is the extra cash paid for a costly “forest” shade of green in a country where forest covers just 2 percent of territory. The waste is so prevalent that the Defense Business Board, an agency task force, found a potential $125 billion in savings over five years with no reduction in personnel in 2015.

It will take a sharp mind and years of experience to steer the Pentagon through the treacherous waters of Congress, contractors, bureaucrats and emerge with a streamlined agency. That is why President Trump made a great decision in appointing Hershman, who served as deputy chief management officer at the department until December, when he asked her to step in as acting chief management officer. As one of only three women in the Pentagon at the official rank of undersecretary or above, she brings many years of successful service in the private sector.

Before joining the department, Hershman served as chief executive officer of Hammer and Company, succeeding Michael Hammer, author of famed business bestseller, “Reengineering the Corporation.” Hammer and Hershman also wrote what was to be his final book, “Faster Cheaper Better.” In addition to consulting and writing, Hershman worked as a senior executive at several other corporations, including leading the operational excellence activities of global company Avnet. Observers have long been impressed by her steel trap mind, executive talents, and her amazing ability to get things done. She knows how to put together effective teams that take action to push projects to completion.

Hershman has the institutional bona fides, business experience, and reformer attitude necessary to transform one of the largest bureaucracies in the world. She has spent her career focusing on how to overhaul organizations and make them effective. In her first year as deputy and acting chief management officer, her team found the department an impressive $4.4 billion in savings in the fiscal 2018 and has already identified an additional $1.7 billion in the first months of fiscal 2019.

The members of our armed forces would be well served if President Trump decides to make her appointment permanent. Success in the chief management officer mission will ensure that the American military remains the best in the world. For years, experts have warned about our aging defense equipment and the shortage of 21st century technology in our armed forces. Redirecting cash from administrative red tape and unnecessary programs to more effective areas will strengthen the ability of our armed forces to protect our nation and strike when needed.

Taxpayers will also reap benefits. The Pentagon budget has risen by billions of dollars under President Trump. But it is not enough to spend more. The money must be spent smarter. The Pentagon has needed a cleanup crew for some time. Thankfully, the latest appointee to the department is ready to get to work and run it like a solid business.

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/437335-pentagon-reform-is-finally-coming