If only Oregon’s public K-12 school system enjoyed the same
financial backing as US defense contractors.
Note the NY Times article “$296 Billion in Overruns in U.S. Weapons Programs’ by Christopher Drew (3/30/09, here):
Nearly 70 percent of the Pentagon’s 96 largest weapons
programs were over budget last year, for a combined total of $296 billion more
than the original estimates, a Congressional auditing agency reported Monday.
And:
The accountability office reported that the programs were behind schedule by
an average of 22 months, up from 21 months last year and 18 months in 2003.
The office had previously said that the cost of a similar portfolio of
programs had risen by $295 billion through 2007, or $301 billion when adjusted
for inflation.
In the report released on Monday, the G.A.O. said the Pentagon often had to
reduce the number of planes and ships it could buy.
The report said, for instance, that the cost of 10 of the largest weapons
systems was running 32 percent higher than projected, and the quantities that
could be purchased had been cut.
Some programs, like the Air Force’s F-22 fighter jet and the Army’s Future
Combat System, are among the systems that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has
said he is scrutinizing.
According to the G.A.O., the F-22, which was designed in the 1980s, was
originally expected to cost $88 billion in 2009 dollars for 648 planes. The
program is now expected to cost $73.7 billion for the 184 planes.
In 2007, Oregon’s population was 1.245% of the national population. 1.245% of the total cost overruns of $296 billion would be $3.68 billion. Given Oregon’s projected budget deficit, $3.68 billion would be very useful in-state.
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