[quote author=“bulldog”]You win, CA. I see now that defense contractors are the pillars of society. It is clear to me, from the self-reporting of the DoD, that every penny is clearly accounted for and absolutely necessary for the nation’s defense. If we paid a penny less for the equipment used by our military, or even started discussing an investigation into wartime profiteering or defense contractor malfeasance, then the terrorists will have already won.
- Bulldog
Bulldog, although you are making a (poor) attempt at being sarcastic, I am pleased to inform you that you are actually pretty close to being right on the mark!
Few government, business or charitable organizations could (or would choose to) match the degree of internal and external audit, elaborate checks and balances, vulnerability to “whistleblowers”, and contract, political and/or press scrutiny as defense contractors undergo in order to ensure that they practice the highest levels of ethical behavior and are fully accountable for every aspect of their performance on government contracts.
Both the corporate and individual penalties for fraud and/or abuse with respect to government contracting are so severe that it is almost inconceivable that any defense contractor or one of their employees would attempt to deliberately defraud the government.
Occasionally, as in any large and complex activity, mistakes are made. However, in almost every case, those mistakes are caught and self-reported to the government by the contractors themselves as soon as they are discovered. This is the case with virtually every defense contracting “scandal” that you have ever heard or read about in the media. (Somehow, the media never seems to get around to reporting that fact.)
Since, I doubt that this topic is of much interest to others on this forum, unless you post something truly outrageous, this will be my last comment.
