Jun 27, 2023 23:00:00

It turned out that tax of 5.3 million yen was spent on one trash can under the name of national defense

An investigation by the Quincy

Institute , an American think tank, has revealed that private companies contracted by the Department of Defense unreasonably inflated the price of supplies and forced the Department of Defense to pay high prices.

The Pentagon's $52,000 trash can - Responsible Statecraft
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/06/20/the-pentagons-52000-trash-can/

According to Quincy Research Institute's online magazine Responsible Statecraft, Boeing, one of the Department of Defense's major customers, was unfairly raising prices and selling daily necessities. As a result, the Department of Defense will pay $ 200,000 (about 29 million yen) for 4 simple trash cans in 2020, and $ 36,640 (about 5.3 million yen) for 11 trash cans in 2021. It seems that the expenditure has exceeded 400,000 dollars (about 57 million yen) only with the trash can.

In another case, Lockheed Martin increased the price of a conduit called Conduit for P-3 aircraft by 14 times, giving the Department of Defense $133,000 between 2008 and 2015. It is also reported that he was made to bear the additional cost of In addition, product distributor Jamaica Barings will sell wireless filters that used to cost $350 (about 50,000 yen) to the Department of Defense for nearly $49,000 (about 7 million yen) each in 2022. Turns out it was for sale. Responsible Statecraft pointed out that these unfair price hikes have led to an increase in unnecessary spending by the Department of Defense, which in turn increases the burden on taxpayers.

An earlier investigation by the documentary program 60 Minutes found that Boeing overcharged the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system by more than $500 million. It is highlighted that multiple price gouging is rampant. In the wake of the 60 Minutes investigation, a bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Pentagon to investigate allegations of price gouging by vendors.

by

Kelly Michals

Boeing declined to comment on the alleged price gouging. Lockheed Martin said in an interview with 60 Minutes, ``We are negotiating in good faith with the Department of Defense and our sales to the government comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulations and all other applicable laws.''

According to Responsible Statecraft, about half of the $842 billion Pentagon budget requested by the Biden administration goes to these contractors, and by 2022 roughly 30% of military spending will come from Raytheon, Boeing. , Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, the 'Big 5' weapon makers. According to experts, in the 1990s there were more than 50 contractors called 'prime' for the Department of Defense, but by 2023 there will be only five, and the lack of competition between companies will drive prices down. It seems that the lifting has progressed.

Responsible Statecraft said, 'The trash bin example is just a small sampling of the cases in which contractors overcharge for parts and weapons systems, actions that simply reduce military readiness and increase spending.' condemned.