Research into the origins of our ridiculously expensive healthcare industry has been overwhelming my time so I apologize (again) for not posting daily on military spending. The November to-date totals, however, are current. As you can see below, all but one of the awards to our watchlist companies were contract modifications, increases on “firm-fixed-price” contracts. I did miss posting on Lockheed Martin's $3.3 billion contract on Nov. 15, which pushes it up in the lead for November awards. Its closest competitor for November spending is General Dynamics which is nearing the $1 billion mark.
Yesterday's breakdown:
BAE: $11,161,336 (1 modification) Boeing: $421,692,109 (1 contract, 1 modification) General Dynamics: -- L3: -- Lockheed Martin: $146,803,861 (2 modifications) Northrop Grumman: $13,046,971 (1 modification) Raytheon: $84,769,892 (1 modification)
November to-date totals:
BAE: $349,559,509 Boeing: $523,818,303 General Dynamics: $939,638,383 L3: $133,993,432 Lockheed Martin: $3,784,050,368 Northrop Grumman: $155,011,682 Raytheon: $777,530,639
Below are the contracts awarded by the Defense Department November 19, 2019 totaling $1,029,108,930
Recent record daily spending: $7.3 billion on October 28, 2019
Defense Logistics Agency - $625,039,059
Bell Boeing Joint Project Office (California, MD) $379,377,099 Boeing (St. Louis, MO) $232,003,560 MOOG Inc. (E. Aurora, NY) $13,658,400
Navy - $335,891,571
Lockheed Martin Rotary & Mission Systems (Orlando, FL) $92,205,970 Raytheon Missile Systems (Tucson, AZ) $84,769,892 Kellogg Brown and Root Services (Houston, TX) $56,255,635 Lockheed Martin Rotary & Mission Systems (Manassas, VA) $54,597,891 SeaFix (Saipan, Marianas Protectorate) $15,214,417 Northrop Grumman Systems (Baltimore, MD) $13,046,971 BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair (Jacksonville, FL) $11,161,336 Melwood Horticultural Training Center (Upper Marlboro, MD) $8,639,459
Army - $68,178,300
SAF Inc. (Akron, OH), A&H / AMBICA JV (Livonia, MI) $49,000,000 SIG Sauer (Newington, NH) $10,000,000 CSRA (Huntsville, AL) $9,178,300
*This information is provided to highlight just how much taxpayer money is spent, per day, to enrich companies participating in the military industrial complex. The idea that our economy requires a governmental redistribution of wealth from individual taxpayers to large corporations that are friendly and well-connected to government came from the Keynesian argument for demand “stimulus” -- that our economy's health depends on higher and higher levels of spending. For this reason, personal saving is discouraged and often penalized by the government. But because individuals still tend to follow personal incentives to save, the Keynesian argument remains in effect: that government should spend money the public is reluctant to spend through tax-and-spend policies. Its spending primarily enriches the military industrial complex, including the big seven: BAE, Boeing, General Dynamics, L3, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon.*
