Senator Coburn's Wastebook

[RickN]

How about 2,400 F-35's for $200,000,000 each? We'll totally outgun the rest of the world then.

Well, not exactly. They don't seem to fly completely right just yet ya see. However, for a nominal upgrade fee*, the Deluxe model, which is a Jiant Killer, will work.

*Maybe. Just need a few more cost overruns driven by the latest set of multi-mission parameters and subcontractor interface programs. We can field the system at its incipient obsolescence milestone, then begin the needed replacement program while executing 496 interim block upgrades and mission adaptation modifications.

Wait, wut? The threat is a unglateborne indiginee equipped with ComBlock surplus and a bad attitude? You say that a existing, modified aerial application aircraft may possibly be the best fixed-wing platform available to counter the threat? Doooood, that has NO CDI factor. We could fill the sky with 200,000,000 of them for the cost of one F-35? COIN? We are trying to spend COIN!

Yeah, no.

Good start. We do need to replace a lot of our military aircraft as they are getting way to old to be safe, but the cost over runs and gold plated BS, much of it being pushed by congress and not the military has to stop. As Coburn pointed out, we spent millions on Italian transport aircraft the the military did not want. Now half are being scrapped and half are being stored. Some in congress keep pushing a back up engine for the F35 that the Airforce does not want or need, but it is adding to the cost of the jet.

 

[aeropb]

I'm sure they'll be $400,000,000 each by the time we have two dozen of them

 

[RickN]

If we ever start buying in a sensible way and start suing the companies for breach of contract, etc we can stop a lot of that waste. Worse thing is that it happens in all parts of government and not just the military.

 

[dugsok]

He does it every year and he always comes up with billions in waste. Bad part is that they will cut vet benefits and other good things, but never the waste.

I like this they (He) can tell us of all the waste and crap ,but it stops there most of the time.
Do they do anything about it, hardly ever.

 

[RickN]

I like this they (He) can tell us of all the waste and crap ,but it stops there most of the time.
Do they do anything about it, hardly ever.

Most of the others have no interest in stopping waste, it would mean actually having to do something.

 

[ronny]

Yes, why do you ask?

Cause some of ya'll would ***** if you were hung with a new rope. Coburn knows his one vote in the Senate won't change the way the dirtbags operate. He hopes that by bringing it to your attention, he'll get some support to start turning things around. Instead, he gets criticism. He asked me to tell you "Thanks for all your help".

 

[jwv]

Exactly. Coburn's picks were carefully chosen not to offend any of his supporters or to bring condemnation down of him from the media.

Dr. No, the crusading government waste fighter, is the image he seeks to project.

That's true but he did slam that Winery in McAlester for getting that grant to help its production and OSU for the grant to study the size of cattle. He has a good job telling us what the government wastes money on here in Oklahoma and the rest of the country. Yeah it's really going to change things, now we know.

 

[Shadowrider]

How about 2,400 F-35's for $200,000,000 each? We'll totally outgun the rest of the world then.

The F-35s and F-22s serve a legit purpose. These things keep us at the top of the ladder. We should have such tools at our disposal. But with that said I think that the "Soviet model" was and still is the correct approach. Would you rather have 100 F-22s or 1000 F-16s?

Good start. We do need to replace a lot of our military aircraft as they are getting way to old to be safe, but the cost over runs and gold plated BS, much of it being pushed by congress and not the military has to stop. As Coburn pointed out, we spent millions on Italian transport aircraft the the military did not want. Now half are being scrapped and half are being stored. Some in congress keep pushing a back up engine for the F35 that the Airforce does not want or need, but it is adding to the cost of the jet.

Not safe? I beg to differ. You do realize that when we retire our last B-52s that they will be over ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD right? Properly maintained they can go as long as we want them to, it just becomes a matter of whether replacing them makes more sense.

When it comes to defense contracts it's a fine line to walk with the balancing of the technology to keep our capability superiority and all the back scratching.

 

[victor3ranger]

My father and others had a sit down Coburn and others a couple of years ago. They brought in all the paperwork to show the waste that is going on in the Medicare/Medicade crap, to the sum of 100's of billions of dollars a year that tax payers are having to pay for. The drug companies have cornered the market, not only on the drugs but they have also bought the billing companies. They get paid unbelievable amount of money on things that only cost pennies, then they get paid again just to do the billing to medicare/medicade, then get paid a third time for the prescription itself.

Not one word, not one finger has been lifted. These people that have been elected do NOT want to fix the problems.

 

[RickN]

The F-35s and F-22s serve a legit purpose. These things keep us at the top of the ladder. We should have such tools at our disposal. But with that said I think that the "Soviet model" was and still is the correct approach. Would you rather have 100 F-22s or 1000 F-16s?



Not safe? I beg to differ. You do realize that when we retire our last B-52s that they will be over ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD right? Properly maintained they can go as long as we want them to, it just becomes a matter of whether replacing them makes more sense.

When it comes to defense contracts it's a fine line to walk with the balancing of the technology to keep our capability superiority and all the back scratching.

Sorry but I have to stand by my post. Yes I know how long the B52 has been serving and how well they are maintained, I also know that no matter how well they are taken care of after so many years small cracks start appearing in airframes and other problems appear that are not found until one crashes killing crew or civilians on the ground. It does not happen often but it does happen.

We need a more logical way to pick and purchase just about everything the government buys. By the time it goes through congress and the purchasing chain it has become a nightmare for all involved especially the taxpayer.