Posted by
Hunt Junky on Saturday, March 15, 2008 9:33:26 PM
Okay everyone, it's time to pay attention and really look at all sides of this Boeing/Northrup thing. I'm not privy to all the details of this deal but looking at the big picture I don't see what the problem is. Two companies bid on the contract, and one of them won. But horror of horrors, some jobs are overseas. The whole US economy is about to come crashing down and the U.S. Air Force is selling our biggest aviation secrets to Airbus.
I always understood that part the free market system was that competition kept prices manageable and kept quality high. How many companies bid on this contract? All I hear is that Northrup got it and Boeing didn't. I count two. If we are to say Northrup is ineligable because they will be outsourcing to a foreign manufacturer, then how many does that leave? My math is a little shaky, but I come up with one. If we are going to be relying on one company to make all our planes, then don't go crying when the government gets a bill for a $400 socket wrench.
Just recently some Boeing executive went to jail for some shady dealings just like this. But we should just ignore that and give them every contract anyway? What the heck? Let's just assume all contracts to them and forget everyone else. How dare we use global resources when we need all our precious jobs here.
Now I have nothing personal against Boeing. I'm sure they make a quality product and I know they employ thousands of americans. But the idea that they should have gotten this contract just because they employ more americans than another company may seem noble on the outside, but if we follow that logic all the way through then we end up with a seperatist economy and no outside countries who will be able to come in and make more jobs here. This seems extreme, but who would do business with someone who doesn't want to reciprocate. Wouldn't that make us China?
As far as national security is concerned, one of the issues is that the designers of these big tankers have to know the capabilities of the aircraft they'll be servicing. This may be true to an extent, but really the planes being refueled will have to adapt to the tanker. It seems to me the designers will have to know the lowest capabilities in order to meet the capabilities of the refueler. I doubt the Airbus will be trying to fuel the Blue Angels during their maneuvers. I'm sure the French will be making a mint selling the slowest speed numbers of the Stealth Bomber to the Russians.
Believe me, I know the economy is hurting. I'm not independantly wealthy. I'm just a blue collar working stiff, but my overtaxed paycheck tells me that maybe the government should be spending less of my money. I think it would be great if more american jobs could be created. But you better be saving us all some money in the process. Isn't that what capitalism is all about?