>>It's hard to believe that you are forgetting that the US Government
>>*gets* something in return for the money it pays to contractors.

And just for fun, let's take a good look at this for a second, shall we?

On May 24th, two days ago, the Pentagon -- after being lobbied by Boeing which
is looking for some more assignments -- entered into a deal with Boeing, to
wit:

The Pentagon (with taxpayer money) will pay $16 billion to lease 100 used
planes from Boeing to modify into refuelling tankers.

They're leasing these planes for $131 million each, with the proviso that the
Government can buy them in a few years for *another* $4 billion.

This, incidentally, is far, FAR more than each plane would cost to buy them.

Even McCain is bugged by this one, saying (per the NY Times) it was a
profligate waste of taxpayer's money, adding: "In all my years in Congress, I
have never seen the security and fiduciary responsibilities of the federal
government quite so nakedly subordinated to the interests of one defense
manufacturer.''

Just for the record, to be filed under caveat emptor.
jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)